Pictured here is one of the bats at the Gridley Library. Courtesy photo

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Many things can be found inside a library waiting to be discovered behind the covers of books, but last Friday, June 28, there were bats in the library!

Corky Quirk with NorCal Bats returned to the Gridley Branch of the Butte County Library to educate children on a variety of information pertaining to bats. She even brought along six of her furry little friends — two brown, two pallid, and two free-tail bats.

The bats sat quietly at the front of the room in protective clear containers that allowed viewers a good look at them from a distance. With a gloved hand, Quirk held one of the bats and allowed the children to get a closer look at it as she took it around the room.

Quirk quickly went through the basics. Bats are mammals, in our area they prefer a diet of insects, they use echolocation to hunt. She then moved into the physiology of the bat and explained the wings formation and how the bat flew.

Thousands of species of bats exist throughout the world and a reported 25 species of bats reside in California, such as the brown and free-tailed bats that Quirk brought on display.

Children were able to get a detailed view of the bats with Quirk’s projector, which cast enhanced close ups of the bodies of the bats onto the walls. Their delicate wings became enlarged, and their details were easily viewed by those in the room.

NorCal Bats is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of bats and educating the public on the positive benefits of bats on the ecosystem, especially in agricultural areas such as ours.

According to Quirk, bats play a large role in insect control and can reduce the need of pesticides used by farmers. A single bat can eat thousands of insects a night.

The presentation was highly informative and well attended. NorCal Bats returns to the Gridley Library thanks to a grant from the Chico Children’s Endowment.

To learn more about bats, bat rescue and rehabilitation or NorCal Bats, please visit their website at www.norcalbats.org.