Bat country!

[zenith (Tim)]

Well actually flying foxes. The council moved these little guys from the Melbourne botanical gardens to the banks of the Yarra in Kew a few years ago. It makes for an interesting evening BBQ in the park.
Cheers.

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

This is really cool! I imagine it would be a tourist attraction as well?

[zenith (Tim)]

I thought there might have been more people for such a nice Saturday night, but no queue for the BBQs or the car parks, and I have not really seen it advertised.
It was fun though, especially when the big ones get close and you hear their wings. They also skim the water to wet their belly fur and then return to a tree to lap up the water.

[BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)]

I used to enjoy laying in my friend's front yard just after dusk, listening to the screech of the bats as they would fly overhead. I think too many people are unnecessarily frightened of them, either from what they read or have seen on tv.

[gary]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the cool photos, which I really enjoyed looking at.
They are indeed fabulous animals to observe.

As a footnote to photographers and as you are no doubt aware, avoid coming into
accidental physical contact with them. Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABLV) was detected in
the Yarra Bend colony a few years back. A small bite or scratch from
an infected flying fox can result in contracting the fatal virus.

The incubation period lasts between weeks and a couple of years so even
a minor bite or cut should not be ignored.

It is very rare, but better to be aware.

Enjoy their antics through the zoom lens.

[zenith (Tim)]

Thanks Gary that's a good point.
They pretty much kept to themselves and were not interested in us, but reading up on the subject is a little unsettling. I remember seeing the news a couple years ago about the horse in Qld that was put down, the farm quarantined and the owners got rabies shots.
Maybe this is why it was not very busy there.
Cheers.

[Regulus (Trevor)]

I spent a month in Footscray a few years ago and the trees in the park of the road were bat and flying fox high rises. I grew up with them in NSW, but having lived in Tas for decades i had forgotten just how they can swarm.
Nice photos.
Trev