A flying fox colony has taken up residence in North Hazelbrook.
The colony is roosting near its food source, to save themselves the effort of flying up from the plains, according to expert Tim Pearson, who is doing his PhD on flying fox communication.
"Flying foxes are usually just occasional visitors - flying in at night to feast in flowering and fruiting trees, then returning before dawn to one of their established 'camps'," he said.
"There's a network of these camps across the east coast of Australia, and the flying-foxes will travel long distances - up to 50 kilometres - from the camps to find food. They'll move around, following the flowering and fruiting patterns of eucalypts, figs, and other native plants."
But when their nourishment is in short supply, they sometimes establish small temporary camps near food.
"It's all very well flying up into the Mountains from Emu Plains - and back - when there's a lot of food available. But if there's not much around, then hanging out in trees near to the food for a while to conserve energy is a sensible option," Mr Pearson said.
If there's not much [food] around, then hanging out in trees near to the food for a while to conserve energy is a sensible option.
- Tim Pearson
"This is why we occasionally see small groups of flying-foxes establishing temporary camps in trees in the Mountains.
"There are areas at Hazelbrook and Lawson where they turn up occasionally, and sometimes we'll see small groups in trees just for a few weeks when the local eucalypts are flowering."
Flying foxes camping in trees won't cause any harm. They may be a little noisy at times but typically they won't be there for long.
Mr Pearson pointed out that if there is any flying fox, or any wildlife, that's anywhere you can reach, it is going to be injured or sick. He warned not to touch the animal but instead call Wires on 13000 WIRES (1300 094 737) to get a trained rescuer attending.
To find out more about bats in general, and flying foxes in particular, come to the Blue Mountains Bat Night on Friday, March 29, from 6:30 pm at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba.
Meet a real flying fox, hear bat noises via a bat detector, visit the bat cave, do some bat craft and indulge in a free batty mocktail. Details at library.bmcc.nsw.gov.au
