bats drinking water in flight (2 Viewers)

[kyciek]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWh_AwB2jus

Kabaty Forest - Warsaw, Poland

Greetings for all

Krzysztof Twardowski

 

[Hauksen]

Hi Krzysztof,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWh_AwB2jus

Very cool video, thanks for sharing!

I once read that glass surfaces can be hard to detect for bats an acute angles, I presume the same might be true for an even water surface.

It's interesting that two passes seem to be the norm for drinking, one approach pass and one return pass. Maybe the first pass is for obstacle clearance, and on the second (drinking) pass the ultrasonic beam is diverted downwards for better surface detection, flying the previously determined obstacle-free path for safety?

Not much time to watch the video as intensely as it would deserve, so I'm just quickly speculating here

Regards,

Henning

 

[Farnboro John]

Hi Krzysztof,



Very cool video, thanks for sharing!

I once read that glass surfaces can be hard to detect for bats an acute angles, I presume the same might be true for an even water surface.

It's interesting that two passes seem to be the norm for drinking, one approach pass and one return pass. Maybe the first pass is for obstacle clearance, and on the second (drinking) pass the ultrasonic beam is diverted downwards for better surface detection, flying the previously determined obstacle-free path for safety?

Not much time to watch the video as intensely as it would deserve, so I'm just quickly speculating here

Regards,

Henning

Yes, if you would now explain the general absence of splashes as Daubenton's Bats fail to ditch in the water they skim while feeding, that would be illuminating!

My anecdotal experience is that they prefer flat water over even light ripples and I've always assumed this is because prey items show up better against it: but I could be completely wrong! Its a very valid study area IMHO, maybe a Masters for the successful student. :t:

John

 

[Deb Burhinus]

My anecdotal experience is that they prefer flat water over even light ripples and I've always assumed this is because prey items show up better against it: but I could be completely wrong! Its a very valid study area IMHO, maybe a Masters for the successful student. :t:

John

I must admit, I’ve seen Daubenton’s hawking vegetation along riverbanks, grabbing insects off the surface of stagnant/slow moving water and arial hunting different prey items above faster water - I’ve even had them over my garden pond (I live near a river) I believe they are ecologically quite flexible with prey items and different water bodies presumably provide different prey items - depending on water flow and the time in the season vis a vis different prey being available, so I guess they could have localised feeding habits. I’ve never thought they drink whilst hawking/grabbing insects from water, I always assumed they got their fluids from the prey eaten. Don’t they grab surface prey with their feet?

 

[Hauksen]

Hi John,

Yes, if you would now explain the general absence of splashes as Daubenton's Bats fail to ditch in the water they skim while feeding, that would be illuminating!

It just occurred to me that a lot less guesswork would be required if we had a video providing the audio from a bat detector synched to the picture.

Regards,

Henning

 

[Farnboro John]

Hi John,



It just occurred to me that a lot less guesswork would be required if we had a video providing the audio from a bat detector synched to the picture.

Regards,

Henning

Can't get away from the value of tech in wildlife watching! I bet some of the bat experts have a good idea of what is going on, but I have enough trouble keeping up with birds let alone bats. :t:

John