Silver-haired bats are one of the most migratory bats in North America, and New Jersey’s record shows it clearly: September and October together account for 20 of the state’s 35 monthly-tallied sightings, more than half, matching the fall passage window when these bats move south along the Atlantic coast. NatureServe rates the state population S3, vulnerable, and Island Beach State Park’s coastal position, right along that migration corridor, explains why it’s the state’s top named site for a species that otherwise roosts alone in tree bark or foliage.
Summer is nearly silent by comparison, June and July combine for zero records, a gap that fits a bat spending the breeding season elsewhere before funneling back through New Jersey’s coast on its way south.
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