Notes on foraging activity of female Myotis leibii in Maryland

Information on home range and habitat characteristics of eastern small-footed myotis (Myotis leibii) consist only of anecdotal accounts and unpublished research despite the need for such data for conservation of this rare species. We used radio telemetry to determine foraging site selection of four female eastern small-footed myotis in Allegany County, Maryland, in spring 2007. These bats foraged within 1.8 km of their diurnal roosts and had home ranges of <100 ha. Distance-based analysis of habitat use for one foraging bat showed that it foraged farther from the Potomac River and adjacent wetlands, and closer to hilltop forests than random, conforming to expectations based on their low wing loading and broadband, high frequency echolocation call characteristics.