Dang cute!

My sister did just have a cute little boy earlier this week. And he is dang cute. But this post is not about him. This post is about someone I think is dang cute, but others, for some strange reason, don't agree. I don't get it. Oh well.

Perched just outside one of the side doors of the visitor center was this little guy:

For those who may not know, I adore bats! For so many reasons. And now, with White-nose Syndrome claiming the lives of millions of these guys in the east and mid-west, seeing one is even more fantastic to me, because the day may come when they are all but extinct.

The last time I saw a bat alive in the park was along the nature trail. And it turned out that bat was probably stuck, and ended up dieing there in the bushes. I felt so bad that I hadn't tried to move it that day. With that in mind, I considered the goo that the maintenance staff had applied to the upper part of the eves of the visitor center to keep the swallows from nesting. It was very likely this bat had tried to land higher up but got stuck in the muck, and now couldn't move.

I put on a pair of leather gloves, and gently touched it on its wing and side. To my relief it gently dropped off the building flew around the corner. I followed it to a large dog wood bush.

I watched it try and settle in against the softly gusting wind. It finally secured itself, and seemed quite content to just sit and wait there.

It even had a leaf pulled up over its face. It's probably just how it landed, but it almost looked like it was using the leaf to protect itself from the wind.

I can't decide if this is a Big Brown Bat, or a Little Brown Myotis. I'm thinking Big Brown. But without getting a closer look at its tail, I can't know for sure. Maybe some other expert on bats can figure that one out.