Bat Walk

media release: Join Kirsten Magedanz for a guided walk at Owen Conservation Park to learn about bat biology and conservation, how bats benefit us and how they are threatened. Hear about our group’s bat conservation work and monitoring at Owen Park and learn what you can do to help protect your neighborhood bats. Kirsten will demonstrate the use of an acoustic bat detector that allows humans to hear bats’ echolocation sounds as they fly and helps identify the species of bat from the patterns of these sounds.

Kirsten is a May 2024 graduate of UW Platteville with a biology major. Kirsten worked with Dr. Jeffrey Huebschman to conduct bat population surveys using mist netting and acoustic techniques. They searched multiple sites across Grant County for evidence of the evening bat (nycticeius humeralis) whose range has shifted northward, making it the newest of Wisconsin’s 8 bat species.  Kirsten’s research “A New Horizon for the Evening Bat?” was featured in the 2024 Research in the Rotunda, in which outstanding UW system students present their research to legislators and other leaders. Kirsten currently works for USDA as a field technician.

We will start in the Owen Conservation Park parking lot, 6021 Old Sauk Road and walk through the park along level, gravel paths. This walk begins around sunset and continues after dark. Please feel free to bring a head lamp or flashlight. All are welcome! There is no cost or formal registration. For more information: bethawhitaker@yahoo.com or friendsofowenconservationpark@gmail.com)