D.O. Shrauz 1976 24. 14 Sept. (continued) poles enough to set a net. At 7:45 PM saw a bird in the net - some finch - and removed it and our 1st bat, a Myotis. It had been dark for ~40 min but no activity in the stream or expansion joints. We could not see bats in these joints when backlit. So went road cruising at 8 PM. When we returned at [illegible] 10 PM there were 20 Tadarida & in the nets. Hauled in one with the most (~17) and spent ~30 min taking them out. Had to sacrifice the 2 nets as the bats were terribly tangled. By the time we got these out, ~10 more had entered the remaining net - clearly not from the joint. These bats were probably foraging in the creek which was insect laden and filled with willows & tamaracks, the colony appears to be either breaking up or disbanded with the bats returning to feed. Mike claimed there were "20,000 bats" in the joints but this is no longer the case. Left in good spirits (I had been very frustrated during the road cruising) and went to Overton beach to camp. This was a truly dreadful spot with many RV campers, so Sam & Carla had a midnight swim in Lake Mead. Went back to the Valley of Fire to spend the night.