NATIVE BATS OF ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK by Don Endicott

Описание: NATIVE BATS OF ANZA-BORREGO DESERT STATE PARK
An Overview & Insights from an Acoustic Survey in Borrego Palm canyon
Instructor: Don Endicott
Anza-Borrego Foundation
Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center
Friday, April 1, 2022

Don’s presentation begins with a primer on bats that covers their distinguishing features and physiology including their exceptional echolocation capabilities—“seeing with sound” in complete darkness.

In April 2020, Don was granted a research permit by the Park to assess post-fire bat population status and recovery trends, after a human-caused fire on January 18, 2020, burned many of the native California Fan Palms in the core of Borrego Palm Canyon’s First Grove. Press releases at the time suggested resident native bats, particularly Western yellow bats, were likely killed while in their palm frond day roosts.

The second portion of the talk will portray the survey methodology, findings, and lessons learned from Don’s acoustic survey of bats in Borrego Palm Canyon. Through the use of acoustic monitoring techniques, it is possible to identify species present and quantify bat activity levels. Don will share his findings from almost two years of data captured by a professional grade ultrasonic bat recorder positioned in the heart of First Grove.

About the Instructor – Don Endicott

A retired civilian research engineer and executive in the field of Navy Communications and Network Technologies in San Diego, Don discovered a second career as a volunteer naturalist. He is a National Association of Interpretation Certified Interpretive Guide, receiving his training in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. A long-time hiker and explorer of the remotest portions of the Park going back to the 1960s, Don serves as a Volunteer Naturalist, Archaeology Technician, and Archaeology Site Steward for Colorado Desert District, California State Parks. Closer to home in San Diego, he is a Mission Trails Regional Park Trail Guide and public educator for the San Diego Natural History Museum and the San Diego Humane Society as a member of Project Wildlife’s “Bat Team”. Don presents three different multi-media talks on Bats, Mountain Lions, and Peregrine Falcons at regional venues. He contributes full spectrum bat echolocation call recordings to the San Diego Natural History Museum and to Wildlife Acoustics, a bioacoustics monitoring systems company. He is a field contributor to herpetofauna surveys at Cabrillo National Monument and monitors nesting Peregrine Falcons for the National Park Service and US Fish & Wildlife Service. Don is co-author of 50 Best Short Hikes San Diego (Wilderness Press, 2018) with the late Jerry Schad. He was recognized as Anza-Borrego Desert State Park’s volunteer Naturalist of the Year in 2018 and received Anza-Borrego Foundation’s second annual ABF Achievement Award in 2015.