Yolo Causeway Bat Count

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Thank you for making this count possible!

Important information to help prepare for the count:

Video Training & Orientation: https://youtu.be/gc2BSMwTZ4M.  New counters: This link will take you to our pre-recorded orientation and training session from a past year’s count. If you have not done the count before, or if you would like a refresher, please be sure to make time to watch this training ahead of count day. It is a 30-45 minute orientation to the roost site and the count project. On count day, particularly if you’re new, counters will also join a Team Leader in the field who will provide orientation and counting support.  (Please note that the video is from 2021 and thus has a few mentions of 2021-specific information that no longer apply. Just remember that the count is on a Saturday this year, not a Sunday, there is no official evening count, and participants are not required to wear masks!)

What to bring on count day. Bat counters, please be sure to bring:

• Rubber boots (Clean, comfortable, tall)
• Trash bag and second set of foootwear so you can change out of your boots and bring your boots home for cleaning following White-nose protocol (we’ll have instructions for you!)
• High-powered flashlight or bike light, with fully charged batteries (if you have one)
• Binoculars (if you have them)
• Personal items & appropriate layers for the weather
• Snacks and water

Explanations for this supply list:

Rubber Boots: It could be quite muddy under the bridge this year, and it IS a bat roost, after all. We ask that you bring clean boots so as not to bring into the Yolo Bypass any wetland pathogens/invasive species from elsewhere; we ask that they be rubber/plastic because this material is easy to clean and disinfect after your Yolo trip, so you don’t bring environmental pathogens from Yolo to other environments you might explore. The trash bag and second set of footwear will let you put your dirty boots in the trash bag when you take them home for a proper cleaning. We’ll have more information about this in the video training and at the event.

Flashlight, binoculars: Other critical gear if you can get your hands on them are a powerful, long-lasting flashlight with a beam that can be focused (e.g., bike lights or handheld spotlights, roughly 700-1000 lumens though results can vary widely by model) and if you are accustomed to using them, a pair of binoculars. (We will have limited sets of the latter two items for loan. If you have extra lights and want to donate to the count cause, or share with a friend, please do!)

In advance:

Waiver, attached below. To increase efficiency on count day, we have attached the volunteer waiver that all participants must sign in order to take part. If possible, in advance of the count, please download, sign and return an image of this signed waiver by email to Juliana Luna at Yolo Basin Foundation: [email protected].  If not, we’ll have backup hardcopies on site for you to sign.  (The waiver is the standard volunteer form from CA Dept of Fish & Wildlife, the jurisdiction kindly allowing us access to the roost.)

And again, please watch the pre-recorded Training & Orientation:https://youtu.be/gc2BSMwTZ4M

Thanks so much for your interest in the bat count and making it happen! We can’t wait to say hello to all of you, and the bats!

Background: The Great Causeway Bat Count is a Community Science event with the goals of raising bat awareness, and assessing trends in population and roost-use of the bats under the I-80 bridge. It was first organized by the lead researcher, Leila Harris, a local bat biologist and UCD graduate student; and by Corky Quirk, Environmental Educator and Bat Rehabilitator, whom many of you know through the long running Bat Walk program at Yolo. The first count took place in June 2018.

Many thanks to the Yolo Basin Foundation for generously supporting this project’s inception, and bolstering the count each year with organizing staff and supplies!