The Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin is home to bat – 1.5 million is the estimate. Each summer evening, these bats emerge and fly over the city devouring all sorts of insects and pests. This is considered the largest urban bat population known.
We have visited Carlsbad Caverns to see the bats and it was a fascinating and interesting experience. (Read about our visits in 2017 and 2013.) We live just a couple of hours (depending on Austin traffic) from this particular bridge and have yet to go see these bats emerge. It is definitely on my bucket list.
Are you wondering why there is such a large population of bats in a downtown urban area? They have found a perfect nesting place. When the bridge was redesigned in 1980, the redesign created nooks and crannies that were perfect for the bats. So, they have started returning to this area year after year and raising their young here.
The bats are Mexican free-tailed bats. It is estimated that there are 1.5 million of them living under this bridge in Austin. I hope to take the girls down there sometime in August or September, after the babies born this summer are old enough to fly themselves, creating an even larger exodus each evening.
Want to learn more?
Blessings,
At Home.
Previous Letters in the series:
A – Abilene’s Storybook Sculpture Project
B – Big Bend
This is a weekly series and will be linked weekly with the Blogging Through The Alphabet co-hosts:
Amanda at Hopkins Homeschool
Kirsten at Doodle Mom
Jennifer at Worth a Bowed Head
Kimberley at Vintage Blue Suitcase
Desiree at Our Homeschool Notebook
Markie at My Life As Mrs. Cooks
Hilary at Walking Fruitfully
Tagged: ABC blogging, Texas, travel/trips
At Home 
Fabulous! I adore the Congress Ave. bridge and its bats! Such a cool thing. Did y’all ever read the “Hank the Cowdog” book where he gets to interact with those bats? 🙂
We have not read that book. I may have to look it up when we get the trip scheduled!
Bats play such an important role in ecology! We’ve seen a couple when visiting caves but never such an awe-inspiring display.
It is definitely awe-inspiring. And yes, they are very important. I can’t imagine these Texas summer mosquitoes without the benefit of bats!
I love learning something new each day! This is so interesting even though I’m not all that fond of bats 🙂
I don’t mind them from a distance!
that would be so cool to see…all those bats. 🙂
Absolutely!
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