Delta Kite With Unusual Passenger

by Gary Crenshaw
(Hampton, GA, USA)

Yesterday evening I put a seven foot single line Delta kite up at about four hundred feet and anchored it there for a couple of hours just before dark. When I do this I usually lay back in a lounge chair with binoculars and try to identify high altitude military aircraft as they pass over.

On this particular evening as it was nearing dark, I noticed that suddenly the kite started leaning to the right side for no reason. I took the binoculars to check it out and saw something I had never seen before.

A large bat was perched on the leading edge of the Delta kite in the up-right position unlike the hanging upside down way that's normal. It was stretching its wings and seemed to just be using the kite as a resting platform.

Also there were two small baby bats chasing around the twin tails the whole time. This went on for at least a whole minute and then they all left suddenly and disappeared into the darkening sky. I think I will start keeping my camera a little closer in the future.