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They are vilified as bloodsucking, evil creatures that create mayhem and leave destruction in their wake. No, we’re not talking about executives proliferating Ponzi schemes. We’re talking about bats. Bats were once widely maligned, misunderstood, and needlessly feared. Thanks to intense education efforts, more people understand that these beautiful, mysterious creatures are vital to their ecosystems. Bats devour billions of pesky mosquitoes and other annoying insects every night while others serve as pollinators for plants.

They are the only true flying mammals. And they are extremely good at it. Unlike birds, bats can move each wing independently of the other. They can change the curvature of their wings just by bending or unbending their fingers. All this allows for precise flight control. A bat flying at 40 miles per hour can literally turn on a dime and make a right-angle turn in a distance little more than the length of its body.

If that weren’t intriguing enough, bats have big hearts! The metabolic cost of flight is high, and it takes a super athletic heart to supply blood and oxygen to flight muscles. When "resting", bats have a heart rate of 450 beats per minute. When they fly, that approaches 20 beats per second or 1200 beats per minute. Their heart rate returns to resting rate within a second of landing. That’s amazing! Olympians take ten or more minutes to come to their resting heart rate after strenuous exertion.

Now that bats are increasingly seen as fascinating creatures to be valued and viewed, there is increased demand by the public for information on where and how they can go to view bats. Great bat-viewing sites are being recognized and developed everywhere. To help locate these sites, Bat Conservation International published a book "The Vacationer's Guide to Bat Watching". Unfortunately, no sites in Colorado are yet listed in the book. Not to worry. Eighteen species of bats live in Colorado. They can be found in every part of the state, from mountains and shrub lands to urban neighborhoods.

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Some of the best places to look for bats are in the light under street lamps and around open bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes, and streams, where bats are sure to find insects. Many species start hunting before dark and are clearly visible against the twilight sky. Start before sunset and find a place that has something bats need—food or water or both. Bat viewing near lakes is usually very successful.

So how do you hang out in a dark, upside down world? You don’t need special training or equipment, just a comfortable lounge chair and a blanket. For those determined to get a gadget, one of the best ways to observe bats is with a "bat detector." This is a small, expensive piece of electronic equipment that can translate the bats’ echolocation calls into audible sounds so that you can listen to the bats as they hunt.

For the viewers wanting a spectacular bat viewing experience, try Orient Mine Bat Watching at Villa Grove, Colorado. See up to 250,000 bats fly from the mine for their nightly meal! The site is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. One word of warning is in order. This may be a bit of a smelly experience. Large groups of bats produce a lot of guano, or feces. It's harmless, but hardly odorless.

Directions: 45 miles north-northeast of Alamosa or south of the very small town of Villa Grove, Colorado and 7 miles east of the junction of U.S. Highway 285 and Colorado Highway 17 on Saguache County Road GG, a 7 mile gravel road.
Phone: 719-256-4315.
Before You Go: Go to the Orient Land Trust Web page to get additional information for visitors to the Orient Mine.