What to Know
- Bat Roost Count with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
- Aug. 12 and 13; Duarte and Van Nuys, as well as other TBD locations, will be 2023 focuses
- Free but do register in advance
"Is that a bird or a bat?"
It's a frequently asked question around particular parts of our region just as the first stars of a warm night begin to twinkle.
For the flying mammals do adore a good river-adjacent roost, frequently making a home under freeway bridges around the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers.
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And freeway bridges? They may not be as plentiful as wind-riding critters around Southern California, but we do boast more than a few bat-attracting overpasses
To get to know some of these sunset-soaring superstars, and just where they're gathering, a team from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will head out a couple of communities on the evenings of Aug. 12 and 13, all to count roosts.
And helping to create the regional roost rundown? Any volunteers who'd love to participate in the museum's third annual Bat Roost Count.
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While the storied science institution is indeed located in Exposition Park, you'll meet up with other bat buffs in Van Nuys and/or Duarte, depending on the night you choose, or possibly another river-close spot.
This "summer adventure" will "... help solve the mystery of how and where these enigmatic night fliers are living in the city." Miguel Ordeñana, the biologist who became a well-known champion of beloved mountain lion P-22 (as well as other SoCal critters), will be at the helm of the Community Science Team's twilight events.
Animal counts, from the bighorn sheep of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to the eagles of the San Bernardino Mountains, happen throughout the year around our area, all to aid local research, though bat counts do seem a bit harder to land upon.
For "birding" is a popular pastime but "batting"? That may be a novel outing even for people devoted to celebrating urban biodiversity.
The Aug. 12 and 13 citizen science events are free to join but you'll want to register in advance.
Details on where to go and everything you need to know will arrive via email (though a special bat delivery might be a touch more fanciful).
How many roosts will you count? And will you think of bats the next time you cross over a freeway bridge?
There just might be a few amazing, wing-rocking animals roosting right underneath you.
