last weekend, this year’s GEO Tag der Artenvielfalt (biodiversity day) took place in kufstein [G] and the kaisergebirge region.
the goal was to identify as many species as possible within 24 hours.
about one year ago, i found out about this event and for the first time saw microbats up close.
friday evening, i gave my first public presentation on them.
the event started with a bluatschink concert (basically, a two-man-band in the back of a truck) . despite the simple setting, they always manage to lift the spirits – young and old.
afterwards, there were presentations and demonstrations on bats and butterflies for the visitors, and scientific catches of nocturnal animals.
unfortunately it wasn’t too warm (temperatures around 2 degrees celsius), so there weren’t any bats, and hardly any insects around.
however, it was very inspiring to talk to several experts in different fields of biology.
also, there were lots of acquainted faces. (i had to re-introduce myself to some of them because of my …very different haircut, compared to last summer. :mrgreen:)
the next morning, i spent some time taking photos at the schwemm, tirol’s biggest preserved moor and one of the examination sites.
before the whole event got really started, toni, christoph and i had to leave, and we headed for lienz [G], for the opening of austria’s first permanent bat exhibition.