Watch a Bat Ballet - NWF Green Hour

Bats are the only flying mammal. They are fantastic to have around—bats eat LOTS of insects. Did you know some bats can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in an hour?

Let’s Get Started

There are more than 1,400 species of bats. They can be found almost everywhere in the world except polar regions and extreme deserts. However, more than 200 bat species in 60 countries around the world are considered Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable.

More than 40 different types of bats live in the U.S. Most people imagine bats making their homes in caves, but that’s not the only place you’ll find them. More than half of our native bats roost in tree cavities and the narrow, rough spaces between bark and wood.

Here are some bat watching tips:

All bats eat at night and sleep during the day. So, just before the sun goes down, head outside and look for bats.

You can often see them around street lights gobbling up insects attracted by the lights.

If you live near water, you can see them swooping low over ponds, lakes, or streams.

Have fun observing bats!

Document Your Discoveries

Draw or describe the types of bats that live in your area in your Nature Notebook.
Include a description of where and how often you see bats.

Bonus: Help bats by putting up a bat house for roosting and rearing baby bats, called pups. You can build your own or buy one. Check out our tips for where to put your bat house.

I’m finished