On a warm night in late July, a dozen people gather over barbecued burgers and hotdogs in Shawanaga First Nation, about 30 kilometres northwest of Parry Sound, Ont. They’re not just here to snack and socialize, though. Clad in headlamps and settled into folding chairs, when the clock strikes 10 p.m., their nets will open.

The small crowd gathers near an abandoned church, where the community knows 200 to 300 bats come to roost. They’re here to help Shawanaga’s species-at-risk team net and tag bats, mostly the little brown myotis species, as they emerge at dusk to hunt for insects. Nearby is a specially designed “bat condo” built by Shawanaga member Dave Pawis in 2022, which offers an alternative roost for at least 1,000 bats. The air is filled with enthusiastic anticipation, along with thousands of mosquitoes.

Soon, bats are landing in the carefully set traps and the biologists — some from Shawanaga’s species-at-risk-team and another handful from neighbouring First Nations — handle them one by one. They record their gender, weight and age before tagging and releasing them. More Shawanaga residents come by after the local baseball game to take a peek, and even tag some bats’ wings themselves.

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