Thanks to our sixty-six participants who traveled from 19 states to take part in the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network Bat Blitz at Paul B. Johnson State Park in Hattiesburg, MS. Over the course of the three-nigh event, we surveyed 29 sites spread across 10 counties within the DeSoto National Forest, Chickasawhay Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Marion County WMA, Pascagoula WMA, Red Creek WMA, The Nature Conservancy Preserves, and Westervelt Mitigation Banks. The majority of these properties have had limited or no mist net surveys ever conducted to determine bat species presence.
We were able to capture 255 bats!
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Total Captures |
| Rafinesque’s big-eared bat | Corynorhinus rafinesquii | 1 |
| Southeastern myotis | Myotis austroriparius | 1 |
| Tricolored bat | Perimyotis subflavus | 5 |
| Eastern red bat | Lasiurus borealis | 6 |
| Big brown bat | Eptesicus fuscus | 30 |
| Seminole bat | Lasiurus seminolus | 49 |
| Evening bat | Nycticeius humeralis | 50 |
| Mexican free-tailed bat | Tadarida brasiliensis | 113 |
The following awards were presented at the conclusion of the blitz:
Long Distance Traveler – Rose Haider
Gator Bait – Mandy Rigsby
Furry Fiend – Nick Sharp
Highest Diversity – Juan Manuel “Manny” Vazquez and Rose Haidar (seven species captured)
The David A. Saugey Award for Most Bats Captured – Alison McCartney (95 bats)
We’d like to thank our sponsors once again for their support: Tennessee Valley Authority, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation, and Southern Company.
