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.