With Halloween coming up –– well, not for most people, but for those of us in publishing October is the name of the game right now –– the normal slew of imagery comes up: zombies, witches, pirates, pumpkin spice lattes, and bats. Which isn’t like the rest in that list? Well, the creature that can eat up to 1000 pesky insects (mosquitos) in an hour. That would be bats. Fortunately, Olompali State Historic Park is home to eight species of insectivorous bats, so come learn more about these misunderstood and very useful guys this weekend. You’ll have the opportunity to meet live bats, view bat houses, create a bat mask, eat bat snacks. Just after dusk, Corky Quirk of NorCal Bats will teach us about the diversity and benefits of bats worldwide. At dark we hope to see some of the park’s residents swoop and dive while they catch insects on the wing.
Olompali State Historic Park provides excellent bat habitat because of its protected wild lands, lack of pesticide use, old snag trees and preserved historic buildings in which bats can roost. The species of bats documented at Olompali include the pallid bat, California myotis, big brown bat, hoary bat, western red bat, Townsend’s big-eared bat, Mexican free-tail bat, and Yuma myotis. All ages are welcome. Bring a blanket or chair to sit on while we watch the bats. Parking is $8.00 per car, and the event is free.
If You Go:
When: August 8 from 6–9 p.m.
Where: Olompali Park
Just North of Novato at 8901 Redwood Highway
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
