Bex Jackson introduced Plimmerton Rotary to Bats
Bex Jackson is the daughter of club member Ann Scannell, and a field worker with DoC in Te Anau, where she has lived for some time. She has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in zoology and conservation.
Among other things, Bex is involved with a project studying New Zealand’s native bats. She gave us a well-illustrated account of the work, which is centred on Eglinton, in Fjordland.
In New Zealand, bats are geographically widespread but rather rare, and inconspicuous. There are two species, long and short tailed, and their behaviour is quite different.
The long-tailed bat is more common, it lives in small colonies, weighs 10 grams, and moves around a lot. It can live in urban areas and can be seen at dusk in Hamilton. It catches insects on the wing.
The short-tailed bat is heavier at 15 grams, it lives in large colonies, and can occupy the same roost for weeks at a time. This one, unusually, can walk about on the forest floor to catch insects as well as catching them in flight.
Both types can live for as long as 15 or 20 years.
Colonies of bats can be found by analysing recordings of kiwis in the wild; as well as the ultrasonic echolocation noises they make, they also squeak rather like mice.
Bats are under threat, from habitat loss and predation by rats, stoats, and moreporks.
In the Eglinton study, RFID chips weighing about one gram are attached to the bats and their movements are monitored. The primary aim is to check female survival rates, which are key to population survival. In the last 15 years over 3500 bats have been tagged, and the colony is doing well.
Bex reminded us that bats are protected, and our NZ species don’t have diseases that humans can catch.
Bex also thinks that bats are not ugly, although not all of her audience agreed.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Riddle Alert! Who’s Up for Some Brain-Busting Fun?
4-letter word, always done tomorrow,
We’re out of tea, the ultimate sorrow!
Without the eye, you owe me some money,
No sugar no nectar no sweetness no honey,
4-letter word, if by chance you choose,
You can never win, you can only lose!
What is the 4-letter word?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
-
82.5% Yes
-
14.9% No
-
2.6% Other - I'll share below
Loading…
