Abstract
Migratory tree bats - hoary, silver-haired and eastern red bats - are among the most spectacular and widespread bats in North America, yet we know very little about them and almost nothing of their migratory behavior. Studying these bats (and their encounters with wind-energy turbines) on the Canadian prairies might seem a little crazy. The featureless landscape with few trees and scarce water is hardly prime bat habitat. The winds that blow strongly and incessantly make catching bats almost impossible. And when I began my research two years ago, high bat kills at wind turbines seemed mostly limited to facilities built on forested ridgetops in eastern North America. Article includes the following inset: Threatened in Texas (an opinion column was submitted to newspapers in central Texas).