Flight #6, a photo from Victoria, East

Photographer's Note

Whilst I was photograping the bats at Yarra Bend Park I heard something fall to the ground behind me. This young bat scrambled around in the long grass until it found a tree and managed to climb about a foot up its trunk, where I took this shot. Around this time of year the young bats are taking their first flights. This one was finding the going tough on a 40deg day. After a few attempts it managed to get to a tree that was easier to climb and get some height. They have very weak legs in order to preserve weight and so cannot stand. In order to fly they have to be high enough to start flying before they hit the ground after letting go.

trekks, Matthew-Watt, johnfreeman has marked this note useful

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Sekhmet73 (4189) 2008-01-07 2:31 [Comment]

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trekks (14348) 2008-01-07 5:59

When I view this bat, funny how you captured this creature hanging upside down, just like my shot of orang utan.

Nice shot, Stephen, of this sharp image and good clarity from this pov. The bat is posed just for your shot.

Good job. TFS
bill

Matthew-Watt (5934) 2008-01-26 19:05

Hello Steven,

Great photo, it is uncommon to see flying foxes in such good detail close up. I believe this grey-headed variety is considerably rarer than the common dark-headed variety. The position on the eucalypt is great, and the lighting is favorable to let us see all of the sharp features. As these 'bats' do not echo-locate they have smaller ears and much larger eyes than insectivorous bats. Very charming photo.

Matt

johnfreeman (2274) 2008-02-06 15:11

Stephen,
I think that of all your bat pictures this is the one I like the most. It's well composed and detail and sharpness are outstanding. Is that you we can see reflected in its eye?
I love the bat's features, easy to see why they're known as flying foxes!
John

michelleknight (112) 2010-07-01 9:00

Hello,
I love this shot. It is so sharp that you can see all the details and colour variations of her body. I love bats & it is something that I would like to shoot. Very nice!
Michelle