Bat Night at Minnesota Point

Join bat biologists as they investigate a group of nocturnal creatures that call Minnesota Point home, BATS! While a few surveys have been done there is still a lot we do not know about these insect-devouring locals, come out and see how we plan to change that.

*This event is highly weather dependent; September 15th & 17th will be back up rain dates. For updates on the event please keep an eye on the Park Point Community Club and the Minnesota Scientific & Natural Areas’ Facebook pages or email arika.mcgraw@state.mn.us to be added to an email notification list.*

The evening will start at the Walter F. Stock Pumping station so make sure to factor in the time needed to hike the 0.8 mile of trail from the parking area. This event starts at 7 pm and will include an introduction to the bats of Minnesota, what the Minnesota DNR and the US Fish and Wildlife service are working on with bats, Indigenous storytelling, and bat survey opportunities.

Observe DNR mammologists as they gather bats that were caught in carefully placed nets to bring back to a processing tent near the pumping station. There they will record information such as species before releasing them.

Others can join scientists as they go on walks up and down the beach using Echo Meters to record the sounds bats make to help navigate and find food. These devices are connected to a tablet and will detect and record the bats in real time. You will be able to see the color spectrographs of their echolocation and even get a potential species identification.

Both of these activities will happen simultaneously and participants can filter back and forth between them.

Park near the Sky Harbor Airport and hike 0.8 miles down the Park Point Nature Trail to the Walter F. Stock Pumping Station where the base of operations for this event will be located.

*We will be on site after dark so make sure to bring a headlamp or flashlight to help light your way back to your vehicle.*