News — bats at hummingbird feeders

Are your hummingbird feeders being drained at night? Great, you are indeed helping endangered species. Most of Arizona's 28 bat species eat insects, but the federally endangered Lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), and the Arizona species of concern Mexican long-tongued bats (Choeronycteris mexicana), drink nectar from hummingbird feeders, and also eat pollen and fruits from plants such as the saguaro and agave. The bats migrate north from Mexico and arrive in southern Arizona as the Saguaro cactus and agave begin to bloom, traveling throughout southern Arizona and then they return south in the fall. In the fall I usually remove...

I have thirteen feeders in my yard and in the summertime nights they get attacked by the endangered nectar eating bats. They are sloppy drinkers and their slurping always leaves nectar residue on the feeders and the floors that attracts ants and bees.  For the feeders near the house patio and pool area I made cages and positioned around the feeders to prevent the bats from draining.The cages are made from 4’ x 8’ ‘Remesh Sheet’ purchased from Home Depot. (I modified the design based upon the concept from the Hummingbird Monitoring Network.) I cut it, bend it, wire it all...