Stories

We love to hear stories from out beloved sanctuaries. Below you can find some that our visitors have shared. If you have a story of your own to share, please contact us.

Coffin Woods Tri-colored Bats

Tri-colored Bat
Photo by: Dr. J. Scott Altenbach, Maryland.gov

Tri-colored bats continue to use the porch of Blue Heron Lodge, and have done so since at least 2013. They generally arrive in mid-April and leave around July, with occasional sightings in August. A small maternal colony of bats give birth under the rafters, and later disperse into the woods with their babies, perhaps when the porch gets too hot in summer. Three babies were seen, but there could have been more (the clusters of bats are so tight). This year, there were 12 bats at one time, dispersed into several small groups.
This is great news, since bats have been so decimated by white-nose syndrome (a fungal disease) that has almost wiped them out. The tri-colored bat is listed as Endangered in Canada, and is proposed for Endangered species status by the US Fish and Wildlife Service: the decision is expected to be finalized this fall. The bats in Coffin Woods look healthy, with no sign of the disease.

Coffin Woods Owl

In late May our Warden's assistant, Brendan, found an owl fledgling sitting on a trail. Coffin Woods . Naturalists Al and Lois Lindberg, who reside in Blue Heron Lodge, came to its rescue. Gently nudging it off the trail back into the safety of dense underbrush, they determined it was a Great Horned Owl, about 4 months old. Its mother was crying frantically nearby. The rescue was successful, as the young owl was subsequently seen in the company of an adult. Now we have proof that Great Horned Owls nest in Coffin Woods Preserve!