NH Bat Counts Training

Got bats? Help us count them! Attics, barns, and church steeples often serve as summer homes for female bats and their young. In the face of white-nose syndrome, which is causing significant declines in bat populations throughout the Northeast, monitoring these “maternity colonies” is more important than ever. Landowners, homeowners, and other volunteers can help keep track of New Hampshire’s bats by conducting “emergence counts” at bat roosts throughout the state.

Join wildlife biologists Sandi Houghton of NH Fish & Game and Haley Andreozzi of UNH Cooperative Extension for a presentation and demonstration at the NH Audubon Massabesic Center to learn more about the bat species found in New Hampshire, the threats leading to population declines, and how you can help. The training will start with an indoor presentation on bats in New Hampshire. Then, we’ll head outdoors to the onsite barn for a bat counting demonstration at dusk.

Attendees will be trained to participate in the NH Bat Counts project, in which volunteers help to monitor summer bat colonies in New Hampshire. All are welcome, but landowners and homeowners with bats on their property are especially encouraged to attend. For those interested in participating in NH Bat Counts but without bats on their own property, we will have suggestions for sites – like the Massabesic Center – in need of committed volunteers.

This training is free, but space is limited and registration is required.

What to Bring: The second half of the training will be held outside at twilight. Bring a clipboard and pencil to collect data. Be prepared for bugs (especially mosquitoes), and bring a flashlight or headlamp for visibility when walking back to your car.

Questions? Contact Haley Andreozzi at haley.andreozzi@unh.edu or 603-862-5327.

Co-sponsored by: NH Fish & Game and NH Audubon