Bugbear: the bats are out and about...

[Irish Jack O'Brian]

I nearly widdled myself....

I too live in the country and love the open space and the abundant wildlife, though it's only my 5 acres! About two months ago, I was up at about 3:00 AM (a night owl like Artificer) and had gone out into the front yard under a new moon to...well, 'widdle.' Standing in the dark, part way through my assignment, a rhinoceros charged at me from across the lawn, crashing through the cedar break and heading right toward me!!

Or...that's what it sounded like. If you are familiar with the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), you will know it to be small, nocturnal, common to Texas...and incredibly noisy when frightened.

I leave to your imagination the sight of an old man running for dear life, unzipped, before the snarling giant glyptodon.

[Even my wife doesn't know the whole of this story.]

[BoldHighlander]

I love how these threads take on a life of their own!

I got the be-jesus scared out of me when, after (another) sleepless night, I came upstairs to the main levels of the house, made a cuppa tea, and looked out the kitchen window- only to see a HUGE head staring back at me! Some silly deer was standing in my shrubbery, staring at me in my dressing gown- two days of stubble and a half-brewed cuppa in my hand. I nearly widdled myself... It's not the type of thing one expects to see at 0430 out the window. I'm rather proud of myself that I didn't drop my favorite mug or waken the rest of the house.

The visual image is great Scott, thanks!

I live in a "city" that is only minutes from the wooded regions of the pacific nw, with lots of greenspace within, and as such gets its share of wildlife visitors, mainly in the forms of deer (a real traffic hazard at night), raccoons, possums, skunks (earlier this year our collie got sprayed just out by the garage), coyotes, & all kinds of winged critters (just the other day a pair of bald eagles flew low past my house!). Once ina blue moon there are cougar sightings on the fringe of town, and the odd bear sighting.

In thinking about your deer, Scott, I'm reminded of one late night while on foot patrol (security guard), as I was rounding the corner of a condo I heard the sound of running feet on the foot path, only to confront (& nearly get speared) by a 6 point buck running nearly into me!

Another night I saw a "dog" crossing the small park straight at me (I was in the shadows), when I noticed his very bushy tail. I realized it was a coyote & I whistled out at him. He stopped within 40', I then lit him up with my flashlight & he slowly turned and headed back towards the woods. I think he was out hunting neighborhood cats.

Or...that's what it sounded like. If you are familiar with the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), you will know it to be small, nocturnal, common to Texas...and incredibly noisy when frightened.

I leave to your imagination the sight of an old man running for dear life, unzipped, before the snarling giant glyptodon.

[Even my wife doesn't know the whole of this story.]

The infamous "Texas Turkey"!!!

[Kiltboy]

If you are familiar with the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), you will know it to be small, nocturnal, common to Texas...and incredibly noisy when frightened.

After years of living in Texas, darn armadillos still scare me every time I encounter one. Usually I don't see them, as they scurry off so fast, they are just a blur. And they are not afraid to make some noise as they run.

Actually, I think they are just a future sporran with legs.

Did see a few bats last weekend, in a display in the Ft Worth Zoo. Bats flying all over the dimmed display room. Good exhibit with native Texas nocturnal wildlife and insects. And... no, they didn't combine the insects and bats in the same space.

[Lallans]

I once got suckered into buying a purpose-made bat house- a bird house made for bats. It was made of rough wood and had a nice bat outliine branded into the front and was supposedly made on scientific principles and came with a special bat opening and a little vial of bat droppings to sprinkle inside once the thing was up. This was intended to make the thing warm and inviting. I put it up on the correct side of an old shed and waited. Years passed. Of course the bats, despite being a major nuisance factor in a house down the road, avoided the thing completely. Verdict: bats are not a nuisance, because if they weren't desirable to have a round they would have swarmed the place.

[piperdbh]

Bats, are picky about where they live. Some bat houses will be inhabited by bats; some will be used only by hornets and mud daubers.

[Pleater]

Here in the UK bats are protected by the law and are not to be disturbed - even if they are living in your loft.

My mum always used to have three fits when the bats came out to hunt at sunset when we were walking along the main street in the village where her family lived - the tall houses were ideal for the Noctule bats to swoop between to catch moths. I assume that she couldn't hear them coming and that paniced her.

I had a hearing range higher than normal, up to 25KHz - but couldn't detect low frequencies, so I could hear Noctule bats as they go after large insects. I assume it will have faded a bit with age.

I like the name flittermouse better than bat - far more descriptive of them.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Irish Jack O'Brian]

After years of living in Texas, darn armadillos still scare me every time I encounter one.

Actually, I think they are just a future sporran with legs.

Full Mask...and Claws