Courtesy photo. Bats like this one can eat up to 3,000 insects in one night.
Bats are beautiful because, most of the time, they make life for humans much easier. They are the most important controller of might-flying insects.
Experts with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report that a single bat can eat up to 3,000 insects a night.
However, if they have taken up residence in your home, now is the time to get them out. Most bats roost in the natural environment like cavities in trees, foliage, Spanish moss, or caves. As areas of natural habitat are lost, bats may move into structures such as bridges and buildings.
Despite their helpful role in combating beetles, moths (whose caterpillars destroy all kinds of crops) and mosquitoes, bats usually are not welcome in people’s homes or offices. The window of opportunity for getting bats out of the house is open only at a certain times of the year according to wildlife biologists. Killing bats is illegal because of their environmental value and declining numbers.
The FWC lists three species of bats as endangered. In February 2008, the FWC clarified nuisance wildlife regulations pertaining to bats to better protect all species of the flying mammals. The regulations now specify how and when it is legal to remove bats from structures. There is only one safe, legal and effective technique for removing bats from a structure, where they are not wanted. It is a process called “exclusion.”
Excluding bats from their roosting sites involves the use of a one way device that allows them to exit the structure but prevents them from returning. It consists of placing a piece of screen or plastic hung over the hole or crack that they use to enter the premise. The regulation requires “a minimum of four consecutive days/nights for which the low temperature is forecasted by the U.S. National Weather Service to remain above 50 degrees before owners can permanently seal off their structures.
The rationale behind this regulation is founded on the fact that bats, like many Floridians, do not like the cold and four consecutive warm nights seems adequate to get most bats moving and to activate enough bugs for the bats to eat. Flying rapidly depletes the bat’s energy. Bats usually reproduce from April 16th through August 14th – when adult bats gather at their roosting sites to mate and raise young. During that period, the young are entirely dependent upon the adults for food. If separated, the young will perish.
On rare occasions, bats will become your “summer guests” and the legal, safe , responsible way to exclude them is before April 16th or after August 14th, when both young and adults can fly away together. Wildlife biologists state that they have never seen a place that could not be cleaned up of bats.
Building bat houses will help the excluded bats – about ninety percent of the time, evicted/excluded bats will move into the bat houses rather than seek another way back into your home. It gives them a readily available place to live. Trapping bats is also illegal because they tend to return without the exclusion devices. Physical contact with them is not advised as their membrane on their wings is extremely fragile. For photographs and more information the only mammal that can truly fly, about the 13 resident species of Florida bats, how their echolocation allows them to rid the air of detrimental bugs, or how to build a bat house, go to www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/speciesinfo_bats.htm.
Much needed rain helps local fishing
Our weather is somewhat unusual with a lot of wind producing non-fishable days offshore. Earlier this week, we did get some much needed rain. Red tide samples have all been negative. Sea surface temperatures (SST”s) still continue to hover in the mid-sixties to the low seventies until you get near the Gulf Stream. The bottom bite is good catches of the American Red Snapper, vermillion snapper, lane snapper, triggerfish and black sea bass. The grouper bite continues to be on the slo. Puppy sharks continue to aggravate bottom angers. The Cobia action has been pretty good. The dolphin bite continues to be good in the Gulf Stream. Kingfish are reported to be improving.
The Spanish mackerel, black drum, and bluefish are hot In the surf. In Ponce Inlet there are reports of good bluefish, sheepshead, black drum and even an occasional snook, The low seventy degree water in the tributaries and inlet are producing snook, gray snapper; red and black drum, flounder, ladyfish, redfish, and trout. Best baits seem to be live shrimp and scented artificial. In the Tomoka area, the snook action has been good as have been trout. In the lagoon, schooling of red drum has been good in the south end.
Four charged with casting illegal nets
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers recently arrested four men for gill-netting in state waters and seized approximately 48,000 square feet of monofilament net and 4,000 pounds of fish in the waters off of Collier County.
Officers observed two boats without navigation lights working together pulling illegal; nets full of fish. Officers found about two tons of bluefish, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, pompano, spotted sea trout, bonnet-head sharks, and black-tip sharks. Some of the fish were still alive in the nets.
The men from Ruskin, Naples, and Bonita Springs are all facing felony charges and are incarcerated in the Collier County jail.
“These nets do not discriminate and can entangle any species and are very damaging to our resources,” FWC Captain Alfredo Escanio said. “We hope this sends a message to the fishing community that we are out there, protecting the state’s marine life."
The seized fish were sold to a fish house and the funds placed in escrow pending the outcome of the case. A dead bear in the Osceola National Forest led to the arrest of a Jacksonville man for using a false identity and other charges.
Investigation of illegally killed bear continues
FWC officer Brett Gill responded to a call that a bear has been illegally shot in the forest. The initial investigation led to a suspect from Jacksonville. Two other officers took over the case and discovered that another individual was using the same social security number of another Jacksonville individual, who was his deceased brother and had been convicted of robbery, burglary, and escape after serving five years of his fifteen year sentence. The arrested individual worked at the Jacksonville Port and was arrested for use of false information to obtain a seaport identification, use of a false name to obtain a driver’s license, which are third degree felonies, and filing a false affidavits to obtain a driver’s license a s well as a hunting/fishing license, The investigation of the illegally killed bear continues.
Boating accident involving football players closed
The FWC has completed its boating accident investigation into the Feb. 28 capsizing of a 21-foot fishing boat in the gulf occupied by four men, including its owner, NFL football player Marquis Cooper. A press release was published at the end of March. The accident investigation with accompanying photos will be available at MyFWC.com/NEWSROOM/Resources/News_Resources_BoatAccident.htm
Limits on gag and black grouper
The recreational harvest of gag grouper in all Gulf of Mexico waters off Florida reopened April 1 after a two-month closure. This closure helps to reduce the harvest and rebuild the population of Gulf gag grouper.
During the open season, recreational anglers may keep two gag grouper within the five grouper aggregate daily limit in all Gulf waters off Florida, except Monroe County state waters. There is a two-fish limit on both gag and black grouper, either individually or in combination, within the five grouper aggregate daily limit in all Atlantic waters off Florida and in Monroe county statewide.
Spiny lobster season closed until later in the summer
The recreational and commercial harvest season for spiny lobster in Florida waters closed April 1. The regular season reopens Aug. 6. The special two-day sports season for recreational harvesters of spiny lobsters occurs July 29 and 30.
Florida alligators active in the spring
Spring is when Florida alligators get active. The FWC is urging Floridians and visitors to be cautious when having fun in and around water. Alligators abound in all 67 counties and have shared swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes with people for centuries. However, because more people are seeking waterfront property and water-related activities during the warmer months people should be alert when they are in areas where alligators could be present.
State laws prohibit the harassing of alligators, and it is against the law to feed them. The FWC recommends supervising children closely when they are playing in or around the water. There are other precautionary measures people should take to reduce potential conflicts with alligators.
One may find them in a brochure named “Living with Alligators” at www.myfwc.com/gators. The FWC receives more than 16,000 alligator-related complaints. The agency removes about 8,500 alligators each year when the reptiles present potential danger to people or property.
According to the FWC, if you encounter an alligator that poses a threat to you, your pets, or property and the alligator is more than 4 feet long, call The FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (1-866-392-4286). The telephone number is the primary contact for all alligator complaints and it is available to customers 24 hours a day. Alligators are an important part of Florida’s heritage and play a valuable role the ecosystems of which they are part. For more information on alligators, go to www.myfwc.com/gators.
Two people attacked by bobcat
A bobcat attacked two people in separate occasions in Citrus County on March 28. A 10-year-old boy and a 71-year-old man sustained scratches and bites from the encounters. According to FWC officers, the older man was hiking with his Boy Scout group when the bobcat jumped on his back biting and scratching in Withlacoochee State Forest. The animal ran back into the woods when the other scouts came running to aid their leader, who was taken to Citrus Memorial Hospital in Inverness where he was treated and released. The bobcat then went onto another man’s property and bit him on the leg and the man took the cat’s life. He also was treated and released at a local hospital. County animal control officials removed the body of the bobcat and are having it tested for rabies.
Rabies is always present in wildlife populations and any warm blooded animal can catch the disease if exposed to it. It is extremely important that your pets be vaccinated for rabies. Wild animals attacks are infrequent but most of the time when they occur, the animal is sick.
Turkey season over
.jpg)
Courtesy photo. Spring Turkey season will close on April 27.
Program tracking panthers
The FWC has revealed that the program that tracks the endangered Florida panthers with GPS-equipped collars remains intact despite cutbacks in the state budgets.
Recently, one of the three flights per week used to monitor the panthers showed 12 were healthy. Movement of the panthers indicates a healthy animal while one that does not exhibit movement suggests injury or birth of kittens. There are two methods of tracking panthers. The newer GPS equipment allows tracking of panthers when biologists cannot get up into the air at night or during storms. The longevity of the GPS monitor is limited, so panther trackers also use the older VHF monitors.
The VHF monitors last three or more years but require a biologist to be airborne to track the animal. Travel restrictions on state agencies in recent months have resulted in the FWC’s panther team cutting back on monitoring panthers within the Everglades National Park as it requires an overnight stay in hotels and tend to track the animals in more local areas. The population of the Florida panthers in the early 1980’s of thirty animals has steadily grown to a current day count of approximately 100 specimens of this unique cat.
Much of the funding comes from fees collected from residents buying panther license plates. Credit goes to the FWC biologists for their success in bringing up the numbers and restoring the genetic health and vigor of the panther population. Included in the biologists work is the study of animal “denning” habits and movement patterns which in part aid the long-term survival and recovery of the Florida panther. For more information about this species go to www.myfwc.com/panther/index.htm.
Management plan being developed for peregrine falcon
Courtesy photo. A wildlife management lan for the peregrine falcon is under way.
The peregrine falcon is noted for its steep downward plunge and that is exactly what its population did during the past century when DDT usage in the country about drove the species into extinction.
Since then as a result of pesticide regulation and captive breeding-and-release efforts the species has made a dramatic comeback. To keep those numbers soaring, the FWC is developing a management plan for the peregrine falcon. This plan will be presented to the FWC at the meeting in Tallahassee.
Although the peregrine falcon was removed from the state’s endangered species list in June 2008, there must be an approved management plan for that species before such can be enacted.
A final management plan will come before the FWC in Crystal River in June. The peregrine falcon is known as the world’s fastest bird averaging 25-34 mph during normal flight and reaching speeds in excess of 150 mph during dives for prey, which includes doves and ducks.
Big fishing tournament for kids May 16
Attention parents: There is an opportunity of lifetime for your children to fish a youth tournament fashioned after a real fishing tournament on May 16. Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Florida's Mid Coast Chapter, which encompasses Volusia, Flagler, St. John's and Seminole counties and south to Titusville in Brevard County will hold its inaugural Youth Inshore Classic Fishing Tournament on that date.
This will be a full scale adult style tournament, but is for anglers 17-years-old and younger. It is a "Catch, Photo, and Release" targeting only Redfish, Trout and Jack Crevalle.
There are three age groups - 10 years and younger, 11 through 14 years, and 15 through 17 years of age.
Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd, for each species for each age group and one for a "Slam" for the event.
Being a "Catch, Photo and Release" tournament, it will not only let the young anglers enjoy the competition, but also show them the need for conservation so others can also enjoy the sport. Approximately 250 anglers are anticipated. The tournament will last from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16, with the "Captain's meeting" at 6 p.m. Friday, May 15.
The Awards ceremony will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 16. All events will be held at Down The Hatch; 4894 Front St., Ponce Inlet.
A $25 Tournament entry per angler includes all tournament events and a one-year CCA Rising Tide membership if registered on or before May 6. After May 6, the entry fee is $35.
For more information, please call Rich Colesanti (386) 760-8950. All anglers must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. This tournament may be for young anglers, but expect to be treated like an adult. This will be a full scale tournament, complete with Angler’s meeting and award ceremony.
See you there.
Capt. Budd's P.S.
It has been written; “Nothing is evil which is according to nature.” So whether you charter, ride a head boat, run your own vessel, stay in the river, surf fish, or fish from shore or a bridge- there are fish to be caught. Fishing is not a matter of life or death, it is so much more important than that.
Tight lines. <*)/// /><