News & Messages

The people of St. Dunstan’s, Madison have known about the colony of big brown bats living on their grounds for a long, long time. Big brown bats are one of eight species of bat recorded in Wisconsin. Big brown bats are also one of the bats in great danger of being wiped out because of white-nose syndrome, a white, powdery fungus first discovered in 2006 that is causing the rapid decline of hibernating bats across North America. Bats play an essential role in pest control, pollinating plants, and dispersing seeds.

As they were becoming more aware of the threat to bat populations, Rev. Miranda Hassett, rector, and other members of St. Dunstan’s were looking to learn more about their bat colony and the threat white-nose disease might have on it. Their colony lives in a part of a building on the church grounds. Hassett noted, “Small colonies like this, where the bats overwinter instead of flying somewhere else to group with other bats, have been important in the time of white-nose disease because they’re less likely to catch it when they keep to themselves like this.”

In 2017, St. Dunstan’s started to participate in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources bat count. Knowing the locations and approximate sizes of these colonies has helped the gather data about the statewide bat distribution and allows the DNR to track the prevalence of white-nose disease on the bats in our state. The DNR sets monitoring dates for citizens to count the number of bats in their colonies and submit their data. There’s a date in early June before the bats have had their babies to determine the prevalence and then there’s a second count weekend in July after they’ve had their babies. 

Four to ten people from St. Dunstan’s gather around dusk to do each count. “We know when they usually come out (often starting about 15 minutes after sunset), but sometimes they start coming out early, so we start watching on the early side,” Hassett said. “They come out one at a time (though sometimes several come out fast) so it’s not hard to count them. We just shout the numbers all together!” Their June count in 2022 was 53 bats and in 2023 was 52, so the colony appears to be pretty stable.

The people of St. Dunstan’s have found this activity an enjoyable way to show care for creation and are looking forward to the next count date in July!