Post on 06-Sep-2018
The History of the
Covered Bridge
After the purchase of an 80-acre tract of
land west of the Sangamon River in the
1960s, the Lake of the Woods Covered
Bridge was constructed to connect the
two sides of Lake of the Woods Forest
Preserve. Designed by German Gurfinkel,
a civil engineering instructor at the
University of Illinois, the bridge is a
replica of the original Pepperel Bridge
near Boston.
In 1965, the bridge was dedicated in
honor of then Lake of the Woods
Superintendent, Harold Moon, who
directed the actual construction. The
work took 18 months and cost $55,000.
The dedication ceremony was on
schedule despite interruptions from two
floods.
In 1996, major repairs and renovations
were made. The base of the bridge was
reinforced to prevent erosion, the entire
deck was replaced, and the walkway area
was widened as part of the newly-
constructed bicycle-pedestrian path.
Over the years, this bridge has become
home to a returning colony of bats.
Bats at the
Covered Bridge
Lake of the Woods
Forest Preserve
What bat is that?
Though no official survey has been conducted on the bats at the Covered Bridge, we believe our
small colony consists primarily of big brown bats. Little brown bats and the even-smaller Eastern
pipistrelles are two other species that likely reside here.
Other bat species in Illinois include the Northern long-eared, Indiana, Southeastern, Eastern red,
gray, silver-haired, evening, hoary, and Rafinesque’s big-eared bats.
Big Brown Bat Little Brown Bat Eastern Pipistrelle
Little brown bats enjoy
eating insects that have an
aquatic life stage, such as
mosquitoes and mayflies,
making this bridge an
attractive roost. Starting
each April, maternity
colonies of hundreds of
females gather in the
rafters of barns or other
buildings where they will
give birth to and rear their
young, called pups.
Big brown bats are only big
in comparison with other
Illinois bats; their bodies
reach lengths of up to
three inches. They are one
of the most widely
distributed and most
visible species of bats,
often occupying man-
made structures and
feeding in urban yards and
streets.
Eastern pipstrelles are the
smallest bats in Illinois,
weighing only 4-10 grams,
the average equivalent of
about 7 small paperclips!
They are nicknamed
“butterfly bats” for their
fluttering flight pattern.
Welcome to Lake of the Woods Forest
Preserve. You may have passed through
the Covered Bridge many times before
without ever noticing our resident bats.
While we cannot guarantee that you will
see a bat today, this brochure will direct
you to clues of their presence. If you would
like to watch the bats in action, you can
usually see them during the spring through
fall seasons at dusk or dawn as they fly out
from under the bridge and zip through the
sky catching insects.
If you are visiting at dark, please observe
park closing times, wear reflective clothing
and bring a flashlight.
Visit us online at
www.ccfpd.org
Where do the bats “hang out?”
Bats are nocturnal, active only at night. During the day
they rest by hanging upside-down, tucking themselves
into a small crevice where they are protected from
weather and predators.
1. To see where the bats roost at this bridge, walk along
the sidewalk and look inside. Please do not walk on the
road inside the bridge—it is a throughway for vehicles.
2. Once on the sidewalk, look through the windows to the
inside of the bridge. Look up at the gap between the two
main beams at the center of the roof; this is where the
bats roost.
3. Directly below the largest gaps in the wooden beams
you will see piles of bat feces, or guano. Guano often
looks shiny and brittle because it is filled with the
indigestible exoskeletons of insects. High in nitrates, it is a
valuable source of plant fertilizer worldwide.
If we could see in between the roof beams, it would look
similar to the image above: big brown bats huddling
together.
3. Look down at the bat guano.
2. Look up at the roof beams.
Big brown bat with prey in its mouth
Females with naked pup in center
What do these bats eat?
All of Illinois’ 12 bat species are insectivorous.
A single bat can eat up to 3,000 insects each
night! They begin hunting at dusk. After a
couple hours, they return to the roost to rest
or nurse their pups.
Hunting continues periodically throughout the
night with the final feeding around dawn. To
use the least amount of energy and obtain the
most food, bats prefer to eat large insects
such as night-flying moths. Big brown bats
feed on a wide variety of insects but seem to
prefer beetles.
Big brown bats in their roost
1. Look through the bridge windows.