Watch Austin Bats on Youtube
See the great swarms of Texas bats
The Largest Urban Bat Colony in the World
Find this and other information about bats at BCI
While renovating Congress Avenue Bridge, the workers made some deep expansion slots. Little did they know that bats would discover this place, and love it. It's safe for breeding, thus a very desirable place for Mexican free-tailed bats.
When huge numbers of bats began to haunt the reconstructed Congress Avenue Bridge, concerned citizens petitioned to have them eradicated.
But then Bat Conservation International intervened and, for ecological and tourist-attraction reasons, the colony became permanent.
Now bats fly out at every sunset and people flock to see them. The citizens seem quite happy with the arrangement and you can see some of them wearing a sign that reads "Ask me about bats".
At the peak of the season (autumn) there are 1.5 million bats living in that bridge alone.
You can see the emergence times and other useful bat-watching information here.
Austin Bats on Amazon
Mexican Free-Tailed Bat, Realistic Wildlife Plush Stuffed Animal, 14"
Amazon Price: $6.49 (as of 07/26/2008)
Building Bat Houses: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-178 (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin, a-178)
Amazon Price: $3.95 (as of 07/26/2008)
Bat Talk - The Secret Language of Mexican Free-tailed Bats
Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 07/26/2008)
The Benefits of Having Bats Around
They also patrol the area, hunting and eating insects, including 15 tons of of corn earworm moths a night, thus the agriculture benefits as well.
If you had a bat house in your yard, you wouldn't have to worry about mosquitoes and other flying bugs. Wouldn't that be nice?
Besides, you could teach all your friends that bats aren't dangerous or creepy, they're in fact wonderful creatures (not to be touched, though, as any wild animals), and keeping them is ecology-friendly.
Austin locals, especially kids, have come to love their bats. They come to see them many times - that's free entertainment!
Bat Stuff on CafePress
Testimonials: Austin Bats in Blogs
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Fetching RSS feed... please stand byWell, What Do You Think?
Are those bats worth seeing? Was this interesting to read? Got anything to add? Don't hesitate to tell me!
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Evelyn_Saenz
What a great lens. I love watching bats fly around as it gets dark on a summer night in Vermont. Do you know the book Stellaluna? I lensrolled this page to my www.squidoo.com/bluebirds where I discuss making bluebird houses. Bat houses would be a great addition to the yard and help with insects. Posted October 18, 2007 |
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Foolish_Mortal
This is really neat! I hadn't heard about this before, definately I sight I would love to see someday! Thanks for the informative lens. :) Posted July 14, 2007 |
