Townsend's Solitaire and bat (gruesome photo warning!)

[Nancy Stotz]

Went for a nice hike in the Dunn Forest today. Encountered a Townsend's Solitaire flycatching in a clearcut along a ridgetop, got a good look at a Great Horned Owl, heard both Sooty Grouse and Mountain Quail, and heard lots of warblers singing (mostly Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped, but also Black-throated Gray, Wilson's, and Common Yellowthroat). 

We also found a dead bat in the road. I've attached a photo for those who are curious (and aren't squeamish). For scale, you can see a few black ants on and around the head of the bat--I'd guess it was only a couple of inches long. Looking at the list of bats found in Oregon, I figured it's probably one of the Myotis species, and then reading about them in a field guide I decided California Myotis might be the most likely (messy fur on the chest of the bat shows dark bases to the individual hairs, which the field guide said is unique to CA Myotis). Whatever the correct identification, I don't often get to see a bat that's not zooming around in a dusky sky, so I found it interesting to get a better look at some of its features.

Nancy Stotz