For the last 4 nights, I have enjoyed watching a bat spectacle east of Canon City. There were more than a hundred bats foraging over the small fishing pond at Pathfinder Park just west of Florence. The only times I have seen more than a few bats flying at one time is at Carlsbad Caverns and private bat caves in Texas so this has been most unique. Though not in large numbers, there were also bats foraging over a quiet section of the Arkansas River near there. I can personally vouch for the fact that there were plenty of mosquitoes for them to feast on. It is astonishing to watch them flying in such density as they appear to fly in an erratic manner (maybe due to chasing mosquitos and other insects?) which often requires fast flight corrections to avoid collisions with each other, and also with me on several occasions.
I called our local Div of Wildlife biologist and she said this number of bats may indicate a nearby nursing colony. I had a heck of a time getting some reasonable bat pics. Actually it took 3 nights of taking almost totally black pics--they come out at dusk in very low light then are always moving with frequent extreme turns so not easy to predict their flight pattern. I finally found a few out just before dark and got these reasonably good pics. SeEtta
For the last 4 nights, I have enjoyed watching a bat spectacle east of Canon City. There were more than a hundred bats foraging over the small fishing pond at Pathfinder Park just west of Florence. The only times I have seen more than a few bats flying at one time is at Carlsbad Caverns and private bat caves in Texas so this has been most unique. Though not in large numbers, there were also bats foraging over a quiet section of the Arkansas River near there. I can personally vouch for the fact that there were plenty of mosquitoes for them to feast on. It is astonishing to watch them flying in such density as they appear to fly in an erratic manner (maybe due to chasing mosquitos and other insects?) which often requires fast flight corrections to avoid collisions with each other, and also with me on several occasions. 
I called our local Div of Wildlife biologist and she said this number of bats may indicate a nearby nursing colony. I had a heck of a time getting some reasonable bat pics. Actually it took 3 nights of taking almost totally black pics--they come out at dusk in very low light then are always moving with frequent extreme turns so not easy to predict their flight pattern. I finally found a few out just before dark and got these reasonably good pics. SeEtta
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