Originally posted by MSL 
Ok, I have to ask - do the bats react at all to the flashes going off? Or the high pitch whine as they recharge?
They react to everything what is unusual for them. In the moment that you have a light stand (or two, three...) in their usual flight path - which is inevitable - they are disturbed in a way or the other (the narrower the path, the more confusing are the new obstacles).
I had many opportunities just to stay and watch them flying out from their shelters (caves, abandoned mines, old wine cellars. etc) and to see the same spot with lights and cameras set up - and yes, the bats act differently.
When there is a change, they fly back and forth until they probably "scan" every change (with bouncing ultrasounds) and "update" their "maps"... [this is my interpretation, not a scientific fact
]
After that, if you don't change anything in your setup and don't move from your place they get used to the changes and continue their normal routine. Based on my observations the flash (be it the light or the sound of recharging flash) is the least disruptive for them.
Here you can see how this "Tie Fighter" shaped bat is flying near the wall, (although there was lot of space on his left) probably because right behind him (out of the frame) it was a light stand a few meters in back...
by
Nagy Bela, on Flickr
Last edited by Caver; 07-28-2015 at 04:05 PM.
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