Pallid bats feast on centipedes, wolf spiders, scorpions and root borers—all common vineyard pests. [Photo courtesy Elaine Miller Bond]
seems consistent with, for example, Batman. All humor aside, there’s a serious bent to the pallid bat’s ascendency. Typically, bats raise just one pup a year. The low birth rate makes their populations vulnerable to disruptions such as humans encroaching on their habitat, as well as climate change, according to the California State Parks Foundation. “As bat populations in California are rapidly declining, recognizing their role in the ecosystem becomes increasingly critical for their survival,” and for this reason, having a state bat is especially important, according to the foundation. A Sonoma County organic farming pioneer was glad to hear of the development. “Anytime you have a bat being recognized as an important part of the ecosystem it’s spectacular,” says Phil Cotturri, founder of Enterprise Vineyards in Sonoma. “We put up bat houses in our barns,” he says. “Anytime we can do integrated pest management—bats, owls, bluebird boxes in the vineyard—I’m all for it,” says Coturri. The “bluebird boxes” comment refers to the fact that putting up nest boxes in vineyards can help provide habitat
for bluebirds while helping growers keep pests off their grapes. “Every morning, I wake up at 5 a.m. to feed our cats. This time of year it’s always amazing—I don’t know if they are pallid bats or not, but I have a bunch of bats that greet me as I feed the cats,” says Coturri, who is something of a legend in the annals of viticulture for his innovative organic farming practices across California terrain. The timing is typical, according to wildlife ecologist Johnston. Bats have night roosts and day roosts, and they return to their day roosts around 5:30 a.m., when Coturri is feeding the cats. Coturri isn’t the only North Bay organic aficionado pleased with the pallid bat’s new status. “I love hearing this,” says Aron Weinkauf, winemaker and vineyard manager at Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery in St. Helena. “We are huge fans of bats. They are by far the best aerial predators of insects and we work to ensure that we are not disrupting the areas we know them to live in,” he says. “We have hung bat boxes and have seen them used but not occupied. This means that the more natural homes are still the best,” Weinkauf says. g
50 NorthBaybiz
July 2024
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