Gabreil Daveis Tavern

[dogg57]

GLOUCESTER TWP. — A historical site in the township’s Glendora section is expected to get a facelift soon, but you don’t “guano” know why.
Township officials said the 1756 Georgian-style Gabreil Daveis Tavern has become infested with bats. So much so that piles of guano — or bat droppings — climb up to three feet high in parts of the attic.
“In recent years it has cost a lot of money to keep having the bats removed and the guano picked up,” said Grant Coordinator Joan Eller-Hinski. “It’s obviously an old building and the roof needs to be replaced, but bats are like mice — they can squeeze through the tiniest openings.”The township plans to address the bat infiltration of the attic, an aging wood-shingle roof, and a moisture issue in the basement with half of the grant.
Gabreil Daveis Tavern, a 21/2-story brick-and-stone structure, is located on 178 acres overlooking the north branch of Big Timber Creek.
In the bid, the tract is said to be one of the last in the area to be developed prior to the Revolutionary War.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/ar...28/Ick-o-location-Bats-foul-Glendora-landmark

 

[Gibby]

For an animal, who's numbers have dwindled in the past years do to White-nose syndrome (Geomyces destructans), the GC should have a better understanding on how to deal with the bats, instead of comparing them to mice and labeling their roost as an infestation. The tavern isn't that large. Simple maintenance of the roof, including the soffits and fascia, along with the construction of large bat houses nearby would be a solution. Bats are one of those animals that are beneficial to the environment, the majority of them being insect eaters.

 

[Teegate]

Nobody wants bats in their house, but when I see them flying around here I feel good about it. They are facinating to watch.

Guy

 

[woodjin]

you could make a lot of gun powder out of that guano

 

[Boyd]

For an animal, who's numbers have dwindled in the past years do to White-nose syndrome (Geomyces destructans), the GC should have a better understanding on how to deal with the bats

There is no bat shortage around my house, there are lots of them. I also find it really interesting to watch them catching bugs out in clearings in the woods at dusk and especially in the outdoor floodlights in the yard. Never had one in my house here, but had them get inside a couple times when I lived in New York and chased them around until I finally swatted them with a broom.

 

[Gibby]

There is no bat shortage around my house, there are lots of them. I also find it really interesting to watch them catching bugs out in clearings in the woods at dusk and especially in the outdoor floodlights in the yard. Never had one in my house here, but had them get inside a couple times when I lived in New York and chased them around until I finally swatted them with a broom.

Boyd, you should feel fortunate that bats can still be seen in your area. It isn't the "norm" for the state. Initially when the Syndrome was discovered in 2009 in New Jersey, ninety percent of the bat population was lost. In my neighborhood, I can recall seeing many bats diving and swooping close to the street lights drawn by the swarms of insects, in years past. I didn't see any this summer or hear their evening chirps.

An example from the CWNJ.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/tag/white-nose-syndrome/

"It is clear to me that White-nose syndrome (WNS) has decimated a large portion of the bat population in New Jersey, or at least at a site where I count bats for the Summer Bat Count. In 2008 (before WNS), I counted 261 bats at the Chatsworth General Store in August. Counting bats may seem like a daunting feat, but at dusk (when there is still a little light) the bats fly out of their daytime roosts. Sometimes, 1-2 at a time or in bursts of 3-4 or more. In August 2009, I counted 169 bats at the store. This past Sunday, I only counted 23 bats. To say the least these results are alarming. I hope that at other locations in New Jersey people are still seeing bats and I hope that WNS does not continue to decimate the population"

There is a volunteer driven project counting the population.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/projects/bat/bat-count/

RECENT TRENDS

"Since White-nose Syndrome (WNS) hit New Jersey in January 2009, Summer Bat Count information is even more critical, helping biologists to measure the fallout of this devastating disease. During the first summer post-WNS (2009), summer "house bat" roosts dropped an average 31% in size. We quickly realized that colonies of little brown bats were much more impacted than colonies of big brown bats. In the 2010 Summer Bat Count, we set out to better measure those differences. The results were staggering: while overall colony sizes had dropped now by a total 41% compared to pre-WNS counts, the little brown bats had dropped by 80% while big brown bats had actually increased by 41% in our sample.
In the summer of 2011, our Summer Bat Count sample showed an 86% decrease in little brown bats and a 31% increase in big brown bats since pre-WNS counts. Are big browns taking advantage of newly available roosts and a glut of insects? When homeowners are willing, we are now giving out bat houses to install near existing big brown bat colonies in hopes that they will expand and help replace the bats that have been lost."

 

[Boyd]

Thanks Gibby, I wasn't aware how bad it is. But believe me, there are lots of them here on a warm night, I was thinking the numbers were especially large this past summer.

 

[dogg57]

Thanks Gibby, I wasn't aware how bad it is. But believe me, there are lots of them here on a warm night, I was thinking the numbers were especially large this past summer.

That is Great News to hear Boyd

 

[piker56]

Lots of them in Winslow. Loved watching them at sunset eat those skeeters and black flies!

 

[woodjin]

There are still a fair number in Tabernacle. I remember being near the FRM years ago (circa early 2000's) and there being an extordinary # of them. So much that is was disturbing when I was driving in my open jeep.

Jeff

 

[ecampbell]

There have been plenty of bats flying around here on warm December evenings. They occasionally hang from the rafters in my barn and we even have a bat house.

 

[woodjin]

I had a bat house, Ed. But I never had a success with it.

 

[Gibby]

I had a bat house, Ed. But I never had a success with it.

Woodjin, there are some tips in this link that may help in increasing your chances of getting tenants in your bat house.

http://www.batcon.org/index.php/media-and-info/bats-archives.html?task=viewArticle&magArticleID=585

 

[woodjin]

Thanks, Gibby.

 

[dogg57]

Not NJ But,

Bucks County’s largest bat population has met a grim fate.
Scientists have confirmed that nearly all of the 10,000 bats that have hibernated in an abandoned iron ore mine in Upper Bucks for generations have died.
When Pennsylvania Game Commission Biologist Greg Turner recently visited the Durham mine for the first time in two years, he found total devastation.
The Durham bat mine was once the second largest known bat habitat in Pennsylvania, but this winter only 23 were found alive. Of those, half had clear signs of infection.
Bucks County’s bats were wiped out by a disease that has been killing bat colonies across the Northeast at an alarming rate in the past four years.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/...cle_19e44845-452b-5ffe-ba71-110122304402.html

 

[MikeBickerson]

That's awful. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and I hate mosquitos.

 

[Gerania]

I've been by there a few times. The last time, six or seven years ago, a tour was about to commence; I signed on. It's a nice old place. It's pretty quiet back there. It's at the end of the road and on a decent sized property.