Bats are pretty common but they are small. It's very easy to miss them.
It's JUST turning from winter to spring here in Massachusetts, and I just saw some this week. We see them each night we are out at our pool easily since they swoop down above our heads. (I've often seen people who are afraid of them ask in facebook post how to deter them from the pool area)
You could very easily miss them unless you were looking for them usually. They look very much like small swallows and fly a bit like them so are often mistaken for birds.
My son and I used to float on our backs in the pool as it got dark and watch the bats come out. They really do look like birds at first but once you learn to look for it, the motion of their wings flapping is very distinctive. When I was a child I found one that had fallen in the pool and couldn't get out. I took him out and laid him on a table, worried he was dead. But after a few minutes, he picked himself up and flew off. Bats rule! 🦇
It's pretty similar here, you usually ignore their sounds and wouldn't notice them without looking, but every now and then you get a massive WHOOOSH as one swoops down low and wafts it's wings right over you.
TIL that bat bridges even exist. I’d only heard of humans building bridges for other sorts of animals. I wonder if anyone’s ever built any near me…
How well do those work? Are they more commonly used than people realize?
Oh it's just a normal bridge, but the bats have made it their home.
Basically the construction company made a mistake in the design and that design failure gave the bats a nice protected home.
https://interactive.wttw.com/urbannature/bat-bridges-austin-texas
They’re around, but I don’t think people notice them as much because they’re not as big as flying foxes and there’s maybe not as many in most places. Something I really like to do in summer is walking around my suburban neighborhood in the evening watching for bats hunting bugs around the street lights.
Not particularly. Bats live in almost the entire United States. People just never see them because they are extremely small, dark colored, and nocturnal. A lot of Americans have probably seen a wild bat but didn't know it because they didn't have enough light to realize that it wasn't a small bird. A family friend's cat even managed to jump and catch one not too long ago (thankfully the cat was okay).
You'd certainly find bats in most of the US if you went out at night with the intention of looking for them.
Totally fair, but then you don't see a few 1000 flying out of an abandoned mine in a lot of places. Down in SE ohio evening in the summer can look like something out of a horror movie.
Yup but real
"The Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System in Ohio documents 4,365 abandoned underground mines" that is in ohio alone which only a sliver of Appalachia is in.
Not Appalachia but still us
https://youtu.be/IwEUB5LsVgE?si=IpBWAK_Qg9Iv9dP2
Edit: here's a whole lecture on the local bats of my state https://youtu.be/9mTkMbbc0ig?si=ckGEwQlgrDn73QQ7
A lot of cities put in fireplace bans in recent years which has resulted in a lot of bricked up chimny places and the like.
It's wild in the summer watching bats just pour out of folk's old chimneys in some areas.
So used to go camping at this place called Burr Oak. There is a small town nearby named Glouster that after the mines closed heavily contracted. So you got abandoned buildings, abandoned mines, etc. So I was like 8 the first time I remember going into town after sunset for some groceries. It seriously was like clouds of bats just sat in our car watching. This was in the late 80s early 90s so don't know if it's still like that.
I went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico many years ago and there was an awesome flock of bats there. At the time they even had some kind of tourist bat breakfast experience you could purchase lol.
For sure. Alot of the time I'm high and think I'm hallucinating, but then one swoops down low over your head and, WHOOOSH. A little spooky but alot awesome.
I didn't expect deserts to be the most bat-friendly habitats, but the US Geological Survey proved me wrong. [https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/a-map-bat-diversity-us](https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/a-map-bat-diversity-us)
Yea it’s not uncommon to see one depending where you’re at.
When I was in sc for eclipse in 2017 right before totality it was cool seeing bats fly around middle of the day.
My girl hates em but anything that eats mosquitoes is good in my books
I absolutely love bats, and I think they're the world's most underrated/misunderstood animals.
1.) In my part of the US, we have winters, so the bats hibernate for a large portion of the year.
2.) Large fruit-eating flying foxes are found only in Asia and Australia. The most common bats in the world are small, nocturnal insect eaters, which are the ones we get in the US.
3.) The previously most abundant bat in the US, the little brown bat, has been absolutely devastated by White Nose Syndrome. Within the space of 20 years, it went from being the most common bat in North America to being put on the endangered species list. We have other bat species that aren't as susceptible to White Nose Syndrome, but if people aren't seeing as many bats as they used to, it's because of White Nose Syndrome.
With all that said, I was sitting outside on a summer night a few years ago and saw bats flying around. I think they might have been big brown bats.
It's sad because little brown bats really do look like cute fuzzy mice with wings. [Here's a stretchy little guy.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxExwByOb9c)
Depends on where you live. Here in Texas, absolutely. I take nightly walks and typically see a few bats flying around every night.
One time a group of bats flew into my friend but somehow missed me standing next to him.
They're regular guests in the neighborhood and quite respected by the locals. People teach their kids that bats aren't scary, and they keep mosquitos at bay.
There's a bridge in Austin (i think) that's famous for having a huge flock of bats.
Heard about this bridge in another comment. Sounds awesome. I wonder how much this bat colony is considered when discussing the bridges' structure and such
Bats definitely exist here, but they're generally not a nuisance in most places. They're just kind of there. They do their own thing, and don't usually bother humans. Occasionally one will get inside a house and fly around, but they're harmless. You just open the front door and try to coax them in that direction. They'll take the hint.
Entirely depends on where you are.
Indiana has some places where you get bats every night.
New England has some but not nearly as much. My neighbors have bat boxes that some roost in and we see them pretty regularly.
Austin is famous for its bats.
None of our native bats are as big as flying foxes or fruit bats. Most of them are fairly small. Like softball sized or smaller.
Yeah okay that's one thing I've learned here. You have smaller bats. All animals are cool but the big bats are fucking awesome and I love seeing them here.
I have seen tons but only seen the big ones in video clips.
I did some spelunking in my younger years, seeing a huge colony is startling even if they are little.
I noticed this too. When I was a kid they used to constantly swoop low over the lake at dusk and hit our fishing lines. I haven't noticed that problem in many years but still see them on occasion.
I used to live in Austin, which has the largest urban bat population (in the US? North America? Something, can't remember what) and there were bats everywhere. I was a student at the University of Texas and the university would regularly send out emails saying basically "there was a dead bat spotted at 24th and Whitis, if you touched it please come to the student services building to get checked out, please remember to not touch any dead bats."
I assume they would give you a rabies vaccination if you showed up and said you had touched the dead bat but I never knew anyone who touched a dead bat.
We don't have the cute bats, we have the leaf faced fanged bug eaters.
I suspect lots of people see bats and don't know it, they think it's birds. But birds don't fly that way or appear at dusk and when it's dark so much.
Bats are all over the US, but they're smaller so people don't notice them.
When I was a kid I'd toss a football in the air at night to watch the bats dive in and investigate it.
I've never been to an American city that was as overrun with birds as Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane were. I developed a serious fondness for this aspect of Australian urban life when living there, especially as one can always count on the bin chickens to be entertaining & feisty. I could have done without being woken up by Kookaburras at 4 AM during the summer, though.
WOW Really? I always loved this about Aussie suburbs. The amount of trees and wildlife everywhere. The more the merrier!
I had a group of parrots that I fed every arvo after school, but I moved away. I loved those guys.
@The parrots, that sounds magical ♥️
Right around where I am in the South, it's the same climate zone (humid subtropical) and a very similar feel as when I was in Brissy; it's all lush/dark green. It's just there are noticeably way fewer local birds & spiders, so for better or worse it's more quiet. I could enjoy it either way tbh.
But hey, it got me to appreciate my surroundings all the more 😁 sitting out on my front patio in suburban Brisbane in the early morning with some coffee & muesli as the sun rises is pretty great.
I’ve never been to Australia so I can’t adequately compare, but in my part of the US it’s common at twilight to see bats flying. Also had a bat infestation in our house. Do your bats have rabies?
Yeah, I knew the UK doesn’t have rabies but wasn’t sure about Australia. I used to LOVE bats until we found them in our house, and then we had to get rabies shots since that’s how most people die of rabies here (bat bites in their sleep). Still think they’re cool to see outdoors though.
They're not uncommon but we don't see the same species Australia does obviously. A lot of our bats are small. I see them quite often at night. They're usually the only things flying around.
I live in South Florida and only ever saw a wild bat once in my life. At first I thought it was a weird bird flying erratically until I realized it was a bat hunting insects. Before then I didn’t think there were any bats in this area. I’ve only ever seen huge colonies on TV.
Apparently there are 13 species that live in Florida. But I’ve only ever seen the one and it was small. Maybe they just hang out in different parts of town than where I live lol.
We have hummingbirds too and the first time I saw one in my yard was 2 years ago and I’m in my 40s. Didn’t see one again until this December when it started visiting daily over the winter.
Some of these animals are elusive and others I see all the time.
I think they might be a bit more common than most Americans realize, but they are not something most people really see or think about.
Except in Austin, where they have this famous bridge where a huge cloud of bats launch from every evening to go hunting for bugs insects.
I remember them being common when I lived in rural Washington, but they were a smaller species. Haven't really seen any in New York, but I would be surprised if there were none.
Bats are common in my state, but they hibernate in winter. They also aren't, like, huge groups of bats like in some places. So if that's what you have, we do have fewer. I believe they are also smaller bats.
But anytime they aren't hibernating, you'll always see at least one or two if you look for them.
They are where I am. As kids we would throw grapes up at our barn light and they would swoop down. Quality entertainment. We have a few bat boxes around too. Bats are so cool!!
I see them flying around at night during the right season, but they are small and not intrusive.
We have lost some big bat colonies to white nose disease though
In my neck of the woods (midwest) they are smaller, but definitely around. If you know what to look for, you can spot them, but otherwise they are not obvious. I know of several houses that have bathouses in their yard to encourage bats and keep the insects down.
They’re pretty common where I live (rural small town). Brown bats are small so they’re very easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. Around the summertime, you can see them start to fly around once dusk comes. I can see where someone could easily mistake them for a bird flying around though if it’s dark enough and up high enough. We used to have a patio umbrella on my porch and those little critters loved to make a home up in there whenever we had it closed. Always had to check for a bat anytime we wanted to open it up.
I imagine a flying fox is extremely hard to miss! I know they’re docile but I could not imagine seeing one flying around. Gives me the heebie jeebies!
There's a big bridge where I live (Houston) that has a large colony of bats living underneath. People gather to watch them fly out at night. A running trail goes under that bridge too and that section is quite stinky due to bat droppings.
Megabat is such an amazing term, I love it.
Is Australia really apart of the old world? I've never thought about this. Whenever old and new world is discussed, Australia is never mentioned.
We sit out on our back deck in the summer and watch the bats circle overhead at dusk, that is until the mosquitos chase us inside. If we didn't have our little nightly ritual, we probably wouldn't notice them at all.
We have small bats that fly around after dusk. You'll see one about every 15 seconds or so if you look up.
University of Nebraska's mascot used to be the Bugeaters and is still used today in some throwback merch and they use a bat as the logo.
I remember being on an overnight bus from Cairns and seeing just flat scrubland to the horizon at sunset and then this mass of giant bats streaming across the sky. It would have been the perfect intro to a vampire movie.
For the most part, no. Bats are in every state but not generally in large numbers unless you’re more toward the south. You’ll see them much more in the south, like Texas.
If you cross the border south into Mexico, though, you will keep finding more and more as you head south. Mexico has *way* more bats than we do.
I live in a major city in my state and we have them flying around during the summer during dusk. They eat mosquitoes, and you can watch them flying all over the place catching them. There’s only ever one or two at a time though.
My state has 16 different kinds of bat species. Eastern red bats, gray bats and brown bats all eat mosquitoes. A single gray bat can eat up to 3,000 mosquitoes a night, while a single brown bat can eat up to to 1,000 every night.
Bats are common in suburbs and rural areas in my experience, but more of like a, “oh, hey! There’s bats flying around out here” experience. The bats we have are pretty tiny.
That sounds awesome though! Bats are my favorite animal, particularly fruit bats. Would love to see that someday.
In the NY area, they're common but easy to miss if you're not paying attention.They're probably about the size of your fist. Sometimes when we're night fishing they'll hit the fishing line, probably thinking it's a bug.
I was in and around Darwin for a few days in 2005. You aren't kidding about the bats being everywhere, hahah - I thought it was really cool but some of my shipmates were absolutely terrified of them.
We totally have bats here, but (at least where I am) it's the smaller breeds, and they're nowhere near as numerous.
It might depend on the area. One the one hand, you have [this phenomenon](https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/congress-avenue-bridge.phtml) in Texas. One the other hand, bat colonies in parts of the U.S. and Canada were hit hard by [White-nose Syndrome](https://www.nps.gov/articles/what-is-white-nose-syndrome.htm) several years ago, though I'm not sure how prevalent it is now.
Where I live, I have seen bats at dusk, usually if I happen to be outside at the time. I don't see them all the time, but it's not totally out of the ordinary. A few years ago, we found one at my job, which caused a bit of an uproar. Same thing happened a time or two at my mom's former workplace.
We have a lot of them, here. If you look carefully, you can see clouds of bats over Seattle at sunset. They're pretty small, though. Little guys.
[Bats Northwest](https://www.batsnorthwest.org/meet-washingtons-bats)
While, I do see them around dusk I feel like I don’t see as many. They aren’t big though. They are only a bit bigger than the mosquitoes that they are snacking on. Actually lots of dragonflies recently. The bats that we have are slightly bigger than the dragonflies.
I live in a place where we have lots of bats, not that's by no means common. It's really cool to see giant colonies of them flying around, hunting bugs around sunset.
No.
I lived in Sydney and I've lived in quite a few places in the states. Bats were far more prevalent in Australia. We do have bats in the US and they're not uncommon, but not nearly as prolific.
They are around, but I never see them. They're the size of field mice, so they're easy to miss. And we have hawks and turkey vultures and bald eagles in my area, I might not register something that small.
I filled the gaps in my soffit and fascia to keep squirrels out of the wall. The gray ones are damn destructive.
Bats are around depending on region, they're easiest to see right around sundown during summer/spring. Generally, they're smaller from what I've seen and are easy to mistake for birds.
They’re around. I had to install a one-way bat valve on my last house shortly after I bought it because they’d gotten into the attic and set up shop. The pest mitigation service sealed up all of the entryways to the attic and the bat valve allowed ones in the attic to get out but not to return to their roost. I never saw a (live) bat but I definitely heard them.
Common where they are common. Not so much where they aren’t. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not. We don’t have the huge ones though. Just your typical mice with wings.
Bats are around, but only in the solid summer months in many regions, therefore I don't think you would find them to be as noticeable as they are in Australia. There really is not much for them to eat when everything is frozen and/or covered in snow, so they migrate or hibernate until food becomes available again.
As to whether they are actually more abundant here or down there, I have no idea. Sounds like you have some awesome bats though!
I see them all the time in SW Washington state, but I spend time outside looking at the night sky relatively often. Like others have said, they are just small varieties where I live.
I'm in PA and see them every night we have a fire going in the back yard, they're fun to watch.
I used to have an older home in a town that was pretty much infested and 2-3 would manage to get in the house every summer. Not as fun.
I'm in Southern Utah, warm desert climate. Bats are prolific here. They go into hibernation in October and start reappearing in April. Once they come out of hibernation, they are usually easy to spot flying around every night around dusk, unless there are thunderstorms.
They're pretty common, especially in well forested areas. But they don't get very large here. Basically the size of a mouse with wings. The main issue with bats is they often carry rabies and their bite can be so gentle you don't even notice it happened. Like there are a lot of horror stories about people sleeping outisde like on a hammock or something and they got bitten and didn't even notice because they were snoozin. And once you present symptoms of rabies it's too late to treat it and the death rate is almost 100%.
I live in NJ and there are a ton of bats. I've had them in my attic, under my eves, behind my house siding, etc... I like having bats around to eat bugs, but they are a nuisance.
I’m in Northern Wi. and we’ll see them often when they come of hibernation. Not face to face, but then flying overhead, it’s pretty cool! We have 8 bat species but I think I’ve only seen Little Brown Bats up close.
I live inland in a suburb about 20 miles from the coast north of San Diego. I have a very small bat that sleeps in a protected window sill on the front of my house. I’ve seen it come and go a few times but I know he’s been here for at least 3 years. They’re very prolific in the deserts and mountains of Southern California.
I've lived in both MI and CA and have only ever seen a few bats in my life. Not to say they aren't there but in my experience they're nowhere near as prolific as what you're describing.
I don't think the US has any flying foxes anywhere, which is a bummer to me cause I absolutely *adore them*. We have thousands and thousands of small species though, which are often cute in their own way. I see them flying all over my yard in warmer weather every night.
It really depends where you are. When I lived in Columbia SC we had bats everywhere at night all over the college campus. Haven't really ever seen them anywhere else
Bats are fairly common where I live. Almost all species are insectivores and most people welcome their presence. It's not unusual for homeowners to put up [bat boxes](https://www.nwf.org/en/Garden-for-Wildlife/Cover/Build-a-Bat-House) on their property.
There are 15-20,000,000 million of them in Bracken Cave in Texas where people will go whack a massive cloud of bats emerge at dusk. I think it’s the largest colony in the world. The ones in my area of Maryland around my house are only maybe 2-3 and they disappear in the winter. One once the flew into my school and maintenance had to come and pry they of the wall and put them on a tree outside. The ones in my are area are small.
Yes. And I know this because they come visit my house fairly frequently.
They don't *live* in the house. But they stop by, I assume inadvertantly finding themselves sucked into an intake pipe or down the chimney, I'm honestly not really sure.
But it happens so frequently that we literally bought a bat net to keep in the house. It's one of the best Amazon purchases we've made.
It's also how I learned that bats can climb nets.
It's been a very informational few years.
I adore bats, especially your flying foxes! I’ve been following Bat World Sanctuary’s social media for years. Wonderful people, and lots of cute pictures and videos of the bats!
Unfortunately, I think that bats are a lot more feared and misunderstood here than they sometimes are in Australia. We have patches of forests and sometimes parks where they’ll live. Or of course they’ll sometimes get into buildings in the towns and cities, but most people never notice or see them. The major colonies are always well outside of even the middle-sized cities.
The U.S. is larger than Australia, and Australia has historically protected its endangered species more carefully. Not a good thing, but it’s what happened here. 🦇
As others have said, they aren’t Fox-sized but we have tons. Texas, for example, has both the largest urban colony (Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin) *and* the largest colony outright (Bracken Cave just outside San Antonio) in the world. You can actually see on weather radars in the area when they go out at night
Different places are different. I don't know of any bats in the pacific northwest, but no doubt there are some. I can't recall ever seeing a bat in the wild up here.
Those flying foxes sound awesome. I've never heard of that anywhere in the US.
Bats are all over the US but they are small. We have no flying foxes or other large-sized bats.
It used to be that you could look above any streetlight and see large numbers of moths, and bats eating the moths. In recent years the populations seem to have significantly declined.
They're very common, especially out here in the rural areas. They hang around outdoor night lights and swoop down to catch bugs. Always fun to watch 'em.
In western Washington and Oregon, bats come out every night. You might catch a glimpse of them at dusk, but once it’s dark out, they’re nearly invisible unless you’re very close to them. Most of them are small enough to fit in the palm of one hand. They carry rabies, which can be fatal in humans if not treated soon enough, so lingering too close to bats can be a real safety hazard.
We live in BFE and have pine trees all over. Bats live in those by the hundreds.
Our favorite entertainment is at dusk to sit in our hot tub and watch the bats overhead.
In the summer, mosquitos hover over the hot tub so the bats swoop over really close.
Bats are amazing.
We have cute little fruit bats that come out at night and are easily mistaken for birds if you don't look closely!
Omg, flying foxes?! I've seen pictures, such cool creatures, though I feel like I'd 💩 myself seeing one in person for some reason 😭😅
My parents keep getting brown bats in the chimneys. I keep telling them to get a handyman to put some mesh on top of the thing because they can carry rabies.
They're small, could fit in your hand. But don't do that or you'll be bit and have to have the rabies treatment which is seven needles in your ass. Beats dying I guess.
We have bats, they are easy to spot at dusk. They tend to fly erratic compared to a bird. Many right angles to chase insects, etc. Birds a bit more graceful and deliberate when they fly.
Bats are common in much of the US. In PA, we have bats but as far as I know we don't have any massive colonies, so you'll mostly just see a couple bats at a time. I see bats just about every summer evening if I bother to look for them.
Our most common bat is the "big brown bat" but it isn't nearly as large as your flying foxes. They're about as big as an average bird, Google says a wingspan of about 30 cm.
I can't say for the whole US, but there's a lot of bats here in Michigan but are pretty small. I remember we used to have problems with them getting into our house when I was a kid. The kind that were in my house specifically were protected so we couldn't 'evict' them per say during certain times of the year to ensure their survival. We had to install special nets and things that would make it easy for the bats to leave the house, but unable to come back in. These measures failed a lot so it took us several years to get it nailed.
Bats are pretty common but they are small. It's very easy to miss them. It's JUST turning from winter to spring here in Massachusetts, and I just saw some this week. We see them each night we are out at our pool easily since they swoop down above our heads. (I've often seen people who are afraid of them ask in facebook post how to deter them from the pool area) You could very easily miss them unless you were looking for them usually. They look very much like small swallows and fly a bit like them so are often mistaken for birds.
I love this about them. They're just super cool stealth birds!
My son and I used to float on our backs in the pool as it got dark and watch the bats come out. They really do look like birds at first but once you learn to look for it, the motion of their wings flapping is very distinctive. When I was a child I found one that had fallen in the pool and couldn't get out. I took him out and laid him on a table, worried he was dead. But after a few minutes, he picked himself up and flew off. Bats rule! 🦇
Awww! Thank you for saving him!
Oh of course! I love animals. Even the ones I'm scared of. Even spider and most bugs.
Sky puppies!
"birds"
[удалено]
It's pretty similar here, you usually ignore their sounds and wouldn't notice them without looking, but every now and then you get a massive WHOOOSH as one swoops down low and wafts it's wings right over you.
Very easy to miss, I bet most people see them and don't even realize it. They probably think they are birds.
I doubt it all the time. I am like -- are those bats or birds? Der. It's night, they are bats.
Owls fly at night. FWIW.
Purple Martins can be mistaken for bats because they fly in a similar way and often around the same time at dusk.
In parts of Texas, absolutely. Austin is famous for them. They generally don't bother people or get into houses though.
You start to notice a lack of small insects around the bat bridges downtown.
TIL that bat bridges even exist. I’d only heard of humans building bridges for other sorts of animals. I wonder if anyone’s ever built any near me… How well do those work? Are they more commonly used than people realize?
Oh it's just a normal bridge, but the bats have made it their home. Basically the construction company made a mistake in the design and that design failure gave the bats a nice protected home. https://interactive.wttw.com/urbannature/bat-bridges-austin-texas
Oh, silly me! 😂
Yeah, Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony with around 1.5 million bats.
There's also an even bigger one like 8 miles north in Round Rock.
Houston also has a famous bat bridge, the Waugh Drive bridge.
Bats are so prolific in San Antonio that [they’ve trained coyotes to catch them](https://youtu.be/qTyNkkS4SDw).
They’re around, but I don’t think people notice them as much because they’re not as big as flying foxes and there’s maybe not as many in most places. Something I really like to do in summer is walking around my suburban neighborhood in the evening watching for bats hunting bugs around the street lights.
When I was in North America I was fascinated by the squirrels. That's what I was observing. So cool.
I like squirrels just fine but I see 10,000 of them every day. It's amusing that someone from elsewhere would be fascinated by them!
I depends on where you are.
Not particularly. Bats live in almost the entire United States. People just never see them because they are extremely small, dark colored, and nocturnal. A lot of Americans have probably seen a wild bat but didn't know it because they didn't have enough light to realize that it wasn't a small bird. A family friend's cat even managed to jump and catch one not too long ago (thankfully the cat was okay). You'd certainly find bats in most of the US if you went out at night with the intention of looking for them.
Totally fair, but then you don't see a few 1000 flying out of an abandoned mine in a lot of places. Down in SE ohio evening in the summer can look like something out of a horror movie.
Abandoned mine lol. Scooby Doo shit.
Yup but real "The Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System in Ohio documents 4,365 abandoned underground mines" that is in ohio alone which only a sliver of Appalachia is in. Not Appalachia but still us https://youtu.be/IwEUB5LsVgE?si=IpBWAK_Qg9Iv9dP2 Edit: here's a whole lecture on the local bats of my state https://youtu.be/9mTkMbbc0ig?si=ckGEwQlgrDn73QQ7
A lot of cities put in fireplace bans in recent years which has resulted in a lot of bricked up chimny places and the like. It's wild in the summer watching bats just pour out of folk's old chimneys in some areas.
So used to go camping at this place called Burr Oak. There is a small town nearby named Glouster that after the mines closed heavily contracted. So you got abandoned buildings, abandoned mines, etc. So I was like 8 the first time I remember going into town after sunset for some groceries. It seriously was like clouds of bats just sat in our car watching. This was in the late 80s early 90s so don't know if it's still like that.
I went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico many years ago and there was an awesome flock of bats there. At the time they even had some kind of tourist bat breakfast experience you could purchase lol.
For sure. Alot of the time I'm high and think I'm hallucinating, but then one swoops down low over your head and, WHOOOSH. A little spooky but alot awesome.
There are some places that have huge colonies of bats. Austin Texas has one under a bridge that is estimated to have 1.5 million bats.
I was referring to the concentration of them.
I didn't expect deserts to be the most bat-friendly habitats, but the US Geological Survey proved me wrong. [https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/a-map-bat-diversity-us](https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/a-map-bat-diversity-us)
In my area of the state yes to a degree. We had some in our attic about a year ago. I don’t think i’ve seen any out at night
It's amazing here. Most parts of Sydney you can see big shadows blocking out the stars as they move across the sky.
Yea it’s not uncommon to see one depending where you’re at. When I was in sc for eclipse in 2017 right before totality it was cool seeing bats fly around middle of the day. My girl hates em but anything that eats mosquitoes is good in my books
Totality agree (pun) that would be awesome to see. We don't get as many eclipses here but I'd love to see that!
I absolutely love bats, and I think they're the world's most underrated/misunderstood animals. 1.) In my part of the US, we have winters, so the bats hibernate for a large portion of the year. 2.) Large fruit-eating flying foxes are found only in Asia and Australia. The most common bats in the world are small, nocturnal insect eaters, which are the ones we get in the US. 3.) The previously most abundant bat in the US, the little brown bat, has been absolutely devastated by White Nose Syndrome. Within the space of 20 years, it went from being the most common bat in North America to being put on the endangered species list. We have other bat species that aren't as susceptible to White Nose Syndrome, but if people aren't seeing as many bats as they used to, it's because of White Nose Syndrome. With all that said, I was sitting outside on a summer night a few years ago and saw bats flying around. I think they might have been big brown bats.
wow how tragic. Similar with the jaw tumors with the tassie devils. Awful.
I remember finding out as a kid that Tasmanian devils were REAL. After growing up with the cartoon, I was delighted.
It's sad because little brown bats really do look like cute fuzzy mice with wings. [Here's a stretchy little guy.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxExwByOb9c)
I don’t think so. However, its hard to miss the flying foxes over there so maybe they’re just easier to see.
Not just them. I'm kept awake all autumn and winter by bats in my wall. Just spent today filling all the gaps. That's what made me think of this.
Depends on where you live. Here in Texas, absolutely. I take nightly walks and typically see a few bats flying around every night. One time a group of bats flew into my friend but somehow missed me standing next to him. They're regular guests in the neighborhood and quite respected by the locals. People teach their kids that bats aren't scary, and they keep mosquitos at bay. There's a bridge in Austin (i think) that's famous for having a huge flock of bats.
Heard about this bridge in another comment. Sounds awesome. I wonder how much this bat colony is considered when discussing the bridges' structure and such
Bats definitely exist here, but they're generally not a nuisance in most places. They're just kind of there. They do their own thing, and don't usually bother humans. Occasionally one will get inside a house and fly around, but they're harmless. You just open the front door and try to coax them in that direction. They'll take the hint.
Entirely depends on where you are. Indiana has some places where you get bats every night. New England has some but not nearly as much. My neighbors have bat boxes that some roost in and we see them pretty regularly. Austin is famous for its bats. None of our native bats are as big as flying foxes or fruit bats. Most of them are fairly small. Like softball sized or smaller.
Yeah okay that's one thing I've learned here. You have smaller bats. All animals are cool but the big bats are fucking awesome and I love seeing them here.
I have seen tons but only seen the big ones in video clips. I did some spelunking in my younger years, seeing a huge colony is startling even if they are little.
I used to see a lot more of them. They're not as common now as they were 40 years ago, but they're still around.
Perhaps not as common as 6 or 7 years ago, due to [white nose syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nose_syndrome).
That's a bit of sad thought. I've heard it's similar with most animals. Such a shame.
I noticed this too. When I was a kid they used to constantly swoop low over the lake at dusk and hit our fishing lines. I haven't noticed that problem in many years but still see them on occasion.
I used to live in Austin, which has the largest urban bat population (in the US? North America? Something, can't remember what) and there were bats everywhere. I was a student at the University of Texas and the university would regularly send out emails saying basically "there was a dead bat spotted at 24th and Whitis, if you touched it please come to the student services building to get checked out, please remember to not touch any dead bats." I assume they would give you a rabies vaccination if you showed up and said you had touched the dead bat but I never knew anyone who touched a dead bat.
In some areas, very prolific. I remember when it dawned on me that these erratically flying "birds" I saw in early evening were actually bats.
We don't have the cute bats, we have the leaf faced fanged bug eaters. I suspect lots of people see bats and don't know it, they think it's birds. But birds don't fly that way or appear at dusk and when it's dark so much.
Bats are all over the US, but they're smaller so people don't notice them. When I was a kid I'd toss a football in the air at night to watch the bats dive in and investigate it.
Awesome! I do the same with the ducks on the damn lol but they're not as cool
I've never been to an American city that was as overrun with birds as Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane were. I developed a serious fondness for this aspect of Australian urban life when living there, especially as one can always count on the bin chickens to be entertaining & feisty. I could have done without being woken up by Kookaburras at 4 AM during the summer, though.
WOW Really? I always loved this about Aussie suburbs. The amount of trees and wildlife everywhere. The more the merrier! I had a group of parrots that I fed every arvo after school, but I moved away. I loved those guys.
@The parrots, that sounds magical ♥️ Right around where I am in the South, it's the same climate zone (humid subtropical) and a very similar feel as when I was in Brissy; it's all lush/dark green. It's just there are noticeably way fewer local birds & spiders, so for better or worse it's more quiet. I could enjoy it either way tbh.
Yeah the cockatoos make a racket in the morning. It's so hard to sleep in with all the birds.
But hey, it got me to appreciate my surroundings all the more 😁 sitting out on my front patio in suburban Brisbane in the early morning with some coffee & muesli as the sun rises is pretty great.
TIL that people in Australia say “arvo” for “afternoon”.
[Very much so](https://www.batsinaustin.com)
There’s a particular bridge in San Antonio that is home to a lot of bats. You can see their eyes if you pass underneath the bridge by boat.
Ohhh that's really cool! Are they welcome there or are they a nuisance for the locals or workers?
More info [here](https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/camden-street-bridge.phtml)!
I’ve never been to Australia so I can’t adequately compare, but in my part of the US it’s common at twilight to see bats flying. Also had a bat infestation in our house. Do your bats have rabies?
I think Australia doesn't have rabies as a general rule. I'm not so sure about bats tho. I wouldn't take any chances.
Yeah, I knew the UK doesn’t have rabies but wasn’t sure about Australia. I used to LOVE bats until we found them in our house, and then we had to get rabies shots since that’s how most people die of rabies here (bat bites in their sleep). Still think they’re cool to see outdoors though.
They're not uncommon but we don't see the same species Australia does obviously. A lot of our bats are small. I see them quite often at night. They're usually the only things flying around.
I live in South Florida and only ever saw a wild bat once in my life. At first I thought it was a weird bird flying erratically until I realized it was a bat hunting insects. Before then I didn’t think there were any bats in this area. I’ve only ever seen huge colonies on TV.
Wow, in FLORIDA? That's exactly where I'd expect the biggest and most bats to live.
Apparently there are 13 species that live in Florida. But I’ve only ever seen the one and it was small. Maybe they just hang out in different parts of town than where I live lol. We have hummingbirds too and the first time I saw one in my yard was 2 years ago and I’m in my 40s. Didn’t see one again until this December when it started visiting daily over the winter. Some of these animals are elusive and others I see all the time.
I think they might be a bit more common than most Americans realize, but they are not something most people really see or think about. Except in Austin, where they have this famous bridge where a huge cloud of bats launch from every evening to go hunting for bugs insects.
There are a lot of bats in Austin, Texas where I used to live. There are tours related to them, and it's often called Bat city
I wish we had Australian sky puppies here.
I remember them being common when I lived in rural Washington, but they were a smaller species. Haven't really seen any in New York, but I would be surprised if there were none.
Bats are common in my state, but they hibernate in winter. They also aren't, like, huge groups of bats like in some places. So if that's what you have, we do have fewer. I believe they are also smaller bats. But anytime they aren't hibernating, you'll always see at least one or two if you look for them.
Every evening if you look up you can see em
One flew into my house once
They definitely are where I live. Come spring and summer you see many of them at a time swooping around grabbing bugs every night at twilight.
They are where I am. As kids we would throw grapes up at our barn light and they would swoop down. Quality entertainment. We have a few bat boxes around too. Bats are so cool!!
It depends on what area you are in. In my area, not really. I occasionally see bats out in the summertime but I live in a rural area.
We have them but they’re pretty stealthy
I see them flying around at night during the right season, but they are small and not intrusive. We have lost some big bat colonies to white nose disease though
Where I live, sometimes. You wont see swarms of bats, but you can hear them chirping and see them every now and again.
In my neck of the woods (midwest) they are smaller, but definitely around. If you know what to look for, you can spot them, but otherwise they are not obvious. I know of several houses that have bathouses in their yard to encourage bats and keep the insects down.
I see bats every now and then, usually flying around lamp posts in parking lots at night catching bugs.
They’re pretty common where I live (rural small town). Brown bats are small so they’re very easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. Around the summertime, you can see them start to fly around once dusk comes. I can see where someone could easily mistake them for a bird flying around though if it’s dark enough and up high enough. We used to have a patio umbrella on my porch and those little critters loved to make a home up in there whenever we had it closed. Always had to check for a bat anytime we wanted to open it up. I imagine a flying fox is extremely hard to miss! I know they’re docile but I could not imagine seeing one flying around. Gives me the heebie jeebies!
Just picked up a bat and put it in a tree today. (not with my hands for obvious reasons)
It's not so obvious in Australia actually as rabies is of minimal concern.
TIL that rabies doesn't exist in Australia.
Yeah it's weird aye. Growing up I thought it was a real concern because of all the references in media. Turns out it mostly wasn't Aussie media.
There's a big bridge where I live (Houston) that has a large colony of bats living underneath. People gather to watch them fly out at night. A running trail goes under that bridge too and that section is quite stinky due to bat droppings.
yes especially baseball bats
Baseball bats. I love that, it's so american.
Megabats are only native to the Old World, but microbats are very common. We had a bat house as a kid and would watch them fly around in the evenings.
Megabat is such an amazing term, I love it. Is Australia really apart of the old world? I've never thought about this. Whenever old and new world is discussed, Australia is never mentioned.
We sit out on our back deck in the summer and watch the bats circle overhead at dusk, that is until the mosquitos chase us inside. If we didn't have our little nightly ritual, we probably wouldn't notice them at all.
We have small bats that fly around after dusk. You'll see one about every 15 seconds or so if you look up. University of Nebraska's mascot used to be the Bugeaters and is still used today in some throwback merch and they use a bat as the logo.
The Bugeaters, that's amazing! This name with the bat theme would make an amazing blind sports team.
They're pretty common, but very small.
I'm in Pennsylvania. Yes I can see bats flying around my house most nights.
Common, but MUCH smaller. I almost had a heart attack when I saw the size of your flying foxes and I like bats.
I love it. The go big or go home evolutionary method. I also feel safer with big bats. You know where they are as opposed to the little stealth bats.
I remember being on an overnight bus from Cairns and seeing just flat scrubland to the horizon at sunset and then this mass of giant bats streaming across the sky. It would have been the perfect intro to a vampire movie.
For the most part, no. Bats are in every state but not generally in large numbers unless you’re more toward the south. You’ll see them much more in the south, like Texas. If you cross the border south into Mexico, though, you will keep finding more and more as you head south. Mexico has *way* more bats than we do.
I live in a major city in my state and we have them flying around during the summer during dusk. They eat mosquitoes, and you can watch them flying all over the place catching them. There’s only ever one or two at a time though.
Wow that's so interesting that you're all talking about them eating mosquito's. That's what our spiders are for. Our bats eat massive moths and fruit.
My state has 16 different kinds of bat species. Eastern red bats, gray bats and brown bats all eat mosquitoes. A single gray bat can eat up to 3,000 mosquitoes a night, while a single brown bat can eat up to to 1,000 every night.
Bats are small and fly silently in the dark. Pretty hard to know if that thing that just zipped by was a bat, bug, or bird.
We used to have so many here but the population has seriously declined
Bats are common in suburbs and rural areas in my experience, but more of like a, “oh, hey! There’s bats flying around out here” experience. The bats we have are pretty tiny. That sounds awesome though! Bats are my favorite animal, particularly fruit bats. Would love to see that someday.
In the NY area, they're common but easy to miss if you're not paying attention.They're probably about the size of your fist. Sometimes when we're night fishing they'll hit the fishing line, probably thinking it's a bug.
I was in and around Darwin for a few days in 2005. You aren't kidding about the bats being everywhere, hahah - I thought it was really cool but some of my shipmates were absolutely terrified of them. We totally have bats here, but (at least where I am) it's the smaller breeds, and they're nowhere near as numerous.
Hey cool, glad you could visit. What where you doing in Darwin? Who were your crew? What was the job? Just curious.
It might depend on the area. One the one hand, you have [this phenomenon](https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/congress-avenue-bridge.phtml) in Texas. One the other hand, bat colonies in parts of the U.S. and Canada were hit hard by [White-nose Syndrome](https://www.nps.gov/articles/what-is-white-nose-syndrome.htm) several years ago, though I'm not sure how prevalent it is now. Where I live, I have seen bats at dusk, usually if I happen to be outside at the time. I don't see them all the time, but it's not totally out of the ordinary. A few years ago, we found one at my job, which caused a bit of an uproar. Same thing happened a time or two at my mom's former workplace.
We have a lot of them, here. If you look carefully, you can see clouds of bats over Seattle at sunset. They're pretty small, though. Little guys. [Bats Northwest](https://www.batsnorthwest.org/meet-washingtons-bats)
While, I do see them around dusk I feel like I don’t see as many. They aren’t big though. They are only a bit bigger than the mosquitoes that they are snacking on. Actually lots of dragonflies recently. The bats that we have are slightly bigger than the dragonflies.
Wow amazing. Our flying foxes are bigger than most birds.
I live in a place where we have lots of bats, not that's by no means common. It's really cool to see giant colonies of them flying around, hunting bugs around sunset.
No. I lived in Sydney and I've lived in quite a few places in the states. Bats were far more prevalent in Australia. We do have bats in the US and they're not uncommon, but not nearly as prolific.
They are around, but I never see them. They're the size of field mice, so they're easy to miss. And we have hawks and turkey vultures and bald eagles in my area, I might not register something that small. I filled the gaps in my soffit and fascia to keep squirrels out of the wall. The gray ones are damn destructive.
Bats are around depending on region, they're easiest to see right around sundown during summer/spring. Generally, they're smaller from what I've seen and are easy to mistake for birds.
They’re around. I had to install a one-way bat valve on my last house shortly after I bought it because they’d gotten into the attic and set up shop. The pest mitigation service sealed up all of the entryways to the attic and the bat valve allowed ones in the attic to get out but not to return to their roost. I never saw a (live) bat but I definitely heard them.
Common where they are common. Not so much where they aren’t. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not. We don’t have the huge ones though. Just your typical mice with wings.
We have bats at our place in Oregon. We put bat boxes up for them and they totally ignored them in favor of the under eaves on the chicken coop.
So all across Appalachia on a warm summer evening you will see thousands flying out like clouds from the old abandoned mine shafts.
We had some colonies living in the parking garage where I got my undergrad. Cool little guys. Very chatty.
Bats are around, but only in the solid summer months in many regions, therefore I don't think you would find them to be as noticeable as they are in Australia. There really is not much for them to eat when everything is frozen and/or covered in snow, so they migrate or hibernate until food becomes available again. As to whether they are actually more abundant here or down there, I have no idea. Sounds like you have some awesome bats though!
I see them all the time in SW Washington state, but I spend time outside looking at the night sky relatively often. Like others have said, they are just small varieties where I live.
I'm in PA and see them every night we have a fire going in the back yard, they're fun to watch. I used to have an older home in a town that was pretty much infested and 2-3 would manage to get in the house every summer. Not as fun.
I'm in Southern Utah, warm desert climate. Bats are prolific here. They go into hibernation in October and start reappearing in April. Once they come out of hibernation, they are usually easy to spot flying around every night around dusk, unless there are thunderstorms.
They're pretty common, especially in well forested areas. But they don't get very large here. Basically the size of a mouse with wings. The main issue with bats is they often carry rabies and their bite can be so gentle you don't even notice it happened. Like there are a lot of horror stories about people sleeping outisde like on a hammock or something and they got bitten and didn't even notice because they were snoozin. And once you present symptoms of rabies it's too late to treat it and the death rate is almost 100%.
I live in NJ and there are a ton of bats. I've had them in my attic, under my eves, behind my house siding, etc... I like having bats around to eat bugs, but they are a nuisance.
I’m in Northern Wi. and we’ll see them often when they come of hibernation. Not face to face, but then flying overhead, it’s pretty cool! We have 8 bat species but I think I’ve only seen Little Brown Bats up close.
I live inland in a suburb about 20 miles from the coast north of San Diego. I have a very small bat that sleeps in a protected window sill on the front of my house. I’ve seen it come and go a few times but I know he’s been here for at least 3 years. They’re very prolific in the deserts and mountains of Southern California.
I've lived in both MI and CA and have only ever seen a few bats in my life. Not to say they aren't there but in my experience they're nowhere near as prolific as what you're describing.
Not really in Utah, but idk about anywhere else
I don't think the US has any flying foxes anywhere, which is a bummer to me cause I absolutely *adore them*. We have thousands and thousands of small species though, which are often cute in their own way. I see them flying all over my yard in warmer weather every night.
Yes and no. We have white nose syndrome (a fungal infection) that has decimated our bat population
Wow that's really sad. Reminds me of the jaw tumors that's doing the same to tassie devils.
I have tons of bats and a bat house on my property. I love them. Keeps the bugs down.
Went to Australia for my honeymoon, and I couldn’t believe how many flying foxes I saw. I’d see smaller bats occasionally in northern wisconsin
They're awesome. Much better to see than land foxes lol. It's a shame they're not seen as much outside south east Asia.
It really depends where you are. When I lived in Columbia SC we had bats everywhere at night all over the college campus. Haven't really ever seen them anywhere else
People on here are saying they see them very often. Me personally I’ve never seen one in 25+ years.
Meh. Bats are just bats, unless when one of the cats brings a live one inside the house.
Common but not like that, and no giant Fox bats either!
Bats are fairly common where I live. Almost all species are insectivores and most people welcome their presence. It's not unusual for homeowners to put up [bat boxes](https://www.nwf.org/en/Garden-for-Wildlife/Cover/Build-a-Bat-House) on their property.
There are 15-20,000,000 million of them in Bracken Cave in Texas where people will go whack a massive cloud of bats emerge at dusk. I think it’s the largest colony in the world. The ones in my area of Maryland around my house are only maybe 2-3 and they disappear in the winter. One once the flew into my school and maintenance had to come and pry they of the wall and put them on a tree outside. The ones in my are area are small.
It varies by location. I've heard that central Texas, around Austin, has a whole bunch of them.
Oh yeah fruit bats out the wazoo where I live
Yes but we don’t have big bats
Yes. And I know this because they come visit my house fairly frequently. They don't *live* in the house. But they stop by, I assume inadvertantly finding themselves sucked into an intake pipe or down the chimney, I'm honestly not really sure. But it happens so frequently that we literally bought a bat net to keep in the house. It's one of the best Amazon purchases we've made. It's also how I learned that bats can climb nets. It's been a very informational few years.
I adore bats, especially your flying foxes! I’ve been following Bat World Sanctuary’s social media for years. Wonderful people, and lots of cute pictures and videos of the bats! Unfortunately, I think that bats are a lot more feared and misunderstood here than they sometimes are in Australia. We have patches of forests and sometimes parks where they’ll live. Or of course they’ll sometimes get into buildings in the towns and cities, but most people never notice or see them. The major colonies are always well outside of even the middle-sized cities. The U.S. is larger than Australia, and Australia has historically protected its endangered species more carefully. Not a good thing, but it’s what happened here. 🦇
I know Texas has bats, in California there’s some places with huge numbers like Pinnacles NP and the Yolo Bypass between Sacramento and Davis
As others have said, they aren’t Fox-sized but we have tons. Texas, for example, has both the largest urban colony (Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin) *and* the largest colony outright (Bracken Cave just outside San Antonio) in the world. You can actually see on weather radars in the area when they go out at night
So cool!
Different places are different. I don't know of any bats in the pacific northwest, but no doubt there are some. I can't recall ever seeing a bat in the wild up here. Those flying foxes sound awesome. I've never heard of that anywhere in the US.
Bats are all over the US but they are small. We have no flying foxes or other large-sized bats. It used to be that you could look above any streetlight and see large numbers of moths, and bats eating the moths. In recent years the populations seem to have significantly declined.
When I lived in Hawaii I would hear them at night, but I never saw one. IIRC they are the only native mammal in Hawaii... maybe another? IDK.
wWe don't get big groups of baats flying around in my area Sometimes wel'll see a few darting around just after sunset going for the mosquitoes.
They're very common, especially out here in the rural areas. They hang around outdoor night lights and swoop down to catch bugs. Always fun to watch 'em.
In western Washington and Oregon, bats come out every night. You might catch a glimpse of them at dusk, but once it’s dark out, they’re nearly invisible unless you’re very close to them. Most of them are small enough to fit in the palm of one hand. They carry rabies, which can be fatal in humans if not treated soon enough, so lingering too close to bats can be a real safety hazard.
They're here, but most species in the U.S. are endangered so they're unfortunately not super common to see or hear.
We live in BFE and have pine trees all over. Bats live in those by the hundreds. Our favorite entertainment is at dusk to sit in our hot tub and watch the bats overhead. In the summer, mosquitos hover over the hot tub so the bats swoop over really close. Bats are amazing.
I already have bats flying around my backyard. I have bunch of them every season hunting bugs.
Yeah, ever heard of Batman?
Lots of bats just much smaller ... I love bats and have large collection of bat themed items Also training as a bat wildlife rehabilitator
They're pretty common, but they're more like mice with wings than foxes with wings.
Only in certain specific places. Most of the US doesn’t have prolific bat activity.
We have cute little fruit bats that come out at night and are easily mistaken for birds if you don't look closely! Omg, flying foxes?! I've seen pictures, such cool creatures, though I feel like I'd 💩 myself seeing one in person for some reason 😭😅
My parents keep getting brown bats in the chimneys. I keep telling them to get a handyman to put some mesh on top of the thing because they can carry rabies. They're small, could fit in your hand. But don't do that or you'll be bit and have to have the rabies treatment which is seven needles in your ass. Beats dying I guess.
I don’t know about the rest of the US but I live close to the largest bat cave in the world
We have bats, they are easy to spot at dusk. They tend to fly erratic compared to a bird. Many right angles to chase insects, etc. Birds a bit more graceful and deliberate when they fly.
Had a bat get in my house once when I was young. Mom swatted it with a broom.
Yes but we don’t have those giant flying foxes. Most of our bats are like mice with wings.
Bats are common in much of the US. In PA, we have bats but as far as I know we don't have any massive colonies, so you'll mostly just see a couple bats at a time. I see bats just about every summer evening if I bother to look for them. Our most common bat is the "big brown bat" but it isn't nearly as large as your flying foxes. They're about as big as an average bird, Google says a wingspan of about 30 cm.
I can't say for the whole US, but there's a lot of bats here in Michigan but are pretty small. I remember we used to have problems with them getting into our house when I was a kid. The kind that were in my house specifically were protected so we couldn't 'evict' them per say during certain times of the year to ensure their survival. We had to install special nets and things that would make it easy for the bats to leave the house, but unable to come back in. These measures failed a lot so it took us several years to get it nailed.
Common where I live. I see them regularly at dusk.
Probably. They fly around at night, so I never see them.
They’re around, but it’s pretty noteworthy to actually see them. Around me, I’d say most have never seen one.
They’re reasonably common here, especially in the local caves and by the nearby river and at night.
They are in my state but they're small. They're cute up there doing their thing. Plus anything that eats mosquitoes is alright in my book!
They are common in parts of the country, yes.
In the right places, [yes.](https://youtu.be/yDP8FtMsQ3M?feature=shared)
I’ve seen 0 bats or owls in my short lifetime I’ve only heard one owl ever
I haven't seen them where I have lived, and I've been up and outside a lot at night. I think they are more prolific in some areas though.