Zorg's Eagle Bat Boxes

 Not that we actually have Eagle Bats, that would be weird.  No, Zorg's Eagle project is creating and installing a dozen bat boxes along our local trail system.


 The bat boxes provide roosting places for bats at night, as well as safe nursery spaces for baby bats in the spring and early summer.

These boxes probably won't be used as nurseries this year, but the bats who use them as roost spaces will remember them for next year. 

Why bats?  They eat insects.  Lots of insects!

The idea behind an Eagle project is for the scout to create something that betters his community, but also to provide hands on experience with planning, directing, and implementing a big project.

This meant he was the main supervisor for the work crews!

It also meant he worked with the National Capitol Park and Planning Rangers to develop the most beneficial project possible.

A dozen bat boxes created and installed at least 15 feet (5 m) in the air was a lot of work.

And he rewarded his crews with popsicles!

As a final touch, he created and installed an informative sign.

It says: Bug problems? Bat solutions!

Bats are part of our ecosystem, acting as natural pest control.  A typical colony of 100 bats feeding over the course of one summer will consume approximately 600,000,000 insects.  This helps cut down the population of mosquitoes that spread harmful diseases, such as West Nile and Zika.  By helping bats, we can make a sizable positive impact on our local environment.

Bat boxes offer bats a safe place to raise their young.  There are over 1,000 species of bats worldwide, ten of ehich are native to Maryland.  The four most likely to inhabit these bat boxes are Little Brown Bats, Big Brown Bats, Northern Longeared Bats, and Evening Bats.

Bat boxes can be found around Indian Creek Trail.  Can you find all twelve of them?