Bat in flight

In many close-by places where the sun came out, the temperature rose well into the 60s and set yet more records for warmth. But close to home, it stayed a bit cloudy and it never got quite so torrid... well, for late December. I didn't bike, but on an afternoon walk, I spotted something unusual: a pair of bats that broke hibernation and were working the skies for additional calories. They were, no doubt, Big Brown Bats, flying mammals that spend the winter around here and use attics, belfries, even loose bark, for hibernacula. They don't need to seek the shelter of caves. I will sometimes spot them during the January thaw, when the warmer temperatures rouse them from sleep and send them off on missions to replenish lost calories. I'm guessing they dozed through the worst of this month, living on stored fat and reducing their fires to a low burn. Temps in the upper 50s and above were enough to issue a wake-up call—and challenge the photographer to capture an image of a Big Brown on the wing. I think this chiropteran would be pleased with the result.