2024 Ohio Bat Blitz – Request for Proposals OPEN!
After the success of our first Bat Blitz in 2022, the Ohio Bat Working Group is excited to continue facilitating future blitzes around the state. Because many groups have expressed interest in serving as a Blitz host, we are sending out a request for proposals for our next event. Proposals are due by July 1, 2023.
Proposal to Host an Ohio Bat Blitz
Please contact Sstankavich@batcon.org with any questions.
The 1st Ohio Bat Blitz was in August of 2022. It was hugely successful! The below summary of the event was written by Jeff Brown, one of the co-organizers of the blitz.
After years in the making, the first Ohio Bat Blitz was held on August 19 and 20 and was everything we had hoped it would be! After delays from Covid, Sarah Stankavich and I started the early planning in late 2021 and by March 2022 we had several committees dedicated to helping make this a successful event. WOW, it was awesome! Over a two-night period, nine teams captured 97 bats representing 7 species that included three state-listed species, one federally listed species, a possible state record, and identified one primary roost for Indiana bat!
Overall, our teams captured 68 big brown bats, 19 red bats, 4 evening bats, 3 Indiana bats, 1 little brown bat, 1 tricolored bat, and 1 Seminole bat. Transmitters were attached to the 3 Indiana bats (all adult females) and were tracked, thus far, to two trees. Roost 1 currently is averaging 135 bats emerging nightly! Roost 2 is averaging 60 bats! The roosts are over 2.5 miles (straight line) from the capture sites. The staff at Five Rivers Metroparks continues knocking it out of the park tracking after the event! Thank you, Gregg Janos, for your continued support and direction during the tracking.
Fifty-two registered attendees and 18 park staff participated. I cannot thank you all enough for your participation, professionalism, and overall energy everyone brought to the event. Special shout out to Adam Mann, Shane Brodnick, Marne Titchenell, and Andrea Jaeger for running the education net station. Five Rivers had 79 people across different backgrounds and age groups attend to learn about bats during the event.
It would be an injustice to not thank again our host, Five Rivers Metroparks, for all their support during this event and for their sponsorship. Additionally, thank you again to our other sponsors Lukuru Foundation, Wild At Hart, EnviroScience, Ohio Division of Wildlife, Orbis, Tim Krynak, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Park, Environmental Consulting & Technology, and Bat Conservation International. Without your support, this event would not have been as great as it was.
I plan to provide more detail of the event at the next Ohio Bat Working Group meeting this winter and perhaps we can start looking at when and where the next Ohio Bat Blitz will occur!
Many Thanks!!!
Jeff Brown