TORRENTIAL downpours up north have seen colonies of flying foxes, or fruit bats, heading to Victoria, including Ballarat, in search of food.Learmonth's Ken Thomas came face-to-face with one of the nocturnal nomads earlier this month when a commotion in a gumtree in his yard got his attention."I heard a huge amount of noise coming from outside and went to see what was happening,'' Mr Thomas said."Magpies had just arrived back for the day and they must have found the bats in their tree and were giving them a move on.''Mr Thomas said, although the magpies were generally quite tolerant of other birds in the yard, the bats were clearly unwelcome.Mr Thomas was distracted by a low flying bat which passed within a couple of feet of his face and was aware of other bats flying away.He believes the bats were attracted to his yard by fruit trees.The bats were seen just on dusk and Mr Thomas has been out since, looking for the furry mammals."I think they may still be somewhere in the area but I haven't seen them since,'' he said.Flying foxes have also set-up colonies in Bendigo, Sale and the Otways with existing populations on the rise.In Melbourne, the Yarra Bend flying fox camp numbers have risen from an estimated 30,000 animals to 52,000.Department of Sustainability and Environment's project leader of wildlife management Ian Temby said the number of bat sightings may rise with the numbers now in the state."We believe there are over 100,000 of the bats in Victoria at the moment,'' Mr Temby said.He said the bats could easily be around without being detected "They hang up in trees during the day, usually in secluded areas. When the numbers are small, they are hard to find." Their favourite things to eat are the nectar and pollen from gum trees and fruit.Mr Temby said the only indication bats may be around may be some noisy squabbling.He said this influx of bats in Victoria was the most ever recorded and was certainly an unusual event.