Geauga Park District is offering a special opportunity to watch Little Brown Bats’ “flight into the night” on property it protects behind South Newbury Union Chapel.

Before your very eyes, bats will emerge from a “bat condo” roosting structure, built over a decade ago as an Eagle Scout project, which is capable of housing hundreds of bats at once.

As dusk proceeds, the bats begin leaving the condo for an evening of food foraging, using echo-location to catch flying insects such as moths, beetles and flies.

White-nose syndrome is a cold-tolerant fungus that continues its rampant spread to caves and rock shelters throughout eastern North America, moving west, killing hibernating bats by the millions since 2006. Marked reductions have already been observed in Geauga County summer bat populations, with the syndrome found in local rock shelters where bats usually hibernate.

Registration is required by phone at 440-279-0880, as parking is very limited; registration is therefore by number of vehicles, not people, so carpooling with family and friends is encouraged.