Bat habitat underway

Bay Area environmentalists are creating a bat habitat by turning an unused silo into a place of refuge for nocturnal bug hunters in need of some lodging.

Members of the Marin-based Meadowsweet Dairy, the environmental group converting the 40-foot-tall silo, told the Oakland Tribune they hope the site will become home to up to 50,000 bats over the next decade. The group previously had helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service create a bird habitat from an old military base on the Farallon Islands.

The silo project is located on the Edwards wildlife refuge in Newark and could potentially become home for several species, including Mexican free-tailed bats, big brown bats and Yuma bats.