Forest Service biologist Kent Woodruff brought two pallid bats to show children in the Summer Reading program at the Winthrop Library last Wednesday (July 24). The furry, blond pallid bat is a desert species unknown in the Methow Valley until Woodruff and naturalist Dana Visalli discovered a small colony under a bridge in Carlton 15 years ago. About 25 kids and adults at the library practiced echolocation, learned about bat diets, listened to stories about bats and saw the tools Woodruff uses when studying the 14 species of bats in the Methow Valley.
Photo by Laurelle Walsh