Have you ever been out around dusk and saw a funny looking bird dart in front of you?  Chances are … you just saw a bat.

I spent some time in a preserve on Long Island this weekend photographing birds.  It was pretty quiet all afternoon and was now approaching dusk.  All of a sudden, I noticed this odd looking bird.  It reminded me of a large hummingbird the way it darted around so erratically.  Since I was birding, I had my Sigma 50-500mm lens and tried to get a glimpse of the creature.  Sure enough, it was a Little Brown Bat!

These small bats are very common on Long Island.  In fact, many people actually have Bat Houses to try to encourage them to roost.  These bats actually eat the real vampires of the night … mosquitoes!  I was watching the bat dive after a swarm of bugs.

Trying to photograph these little creatures was a real challenge.  They are small, pretty fast and erratic, especially when they are feeding.  Little Brown Bats can actually catch mosquitoes in their mouth while they fly through a swarm.

But, don’t worry.  They are harmless to people and wildlife.  In fact, once they select an insect species, they stick with it until there are no more around.  And, on Long Island, we have enough mosquitoes to feed the cast from Twilight 😉

All photos take with the Canon 7D and the Sigma 50-500mm lens