Raining Bats At Congress Avenue Bridge

Yesterday I showed you a picture of people lining the bridge at Congress Avenue in Austin at sunset.

Those folks had gathered there to watch a colony of bats flying out to feed. That’s why we went to Austin, too — we were going batty. I have to tell you that we had a better view! We took a tour with Capitol Cruises and were on a pontoon barge under the bridge. Not only did we get to sit down, we had a guide giving us bat facts while we waited.

The Congress Avenue bridge spans Town Lake in Austin (which actually is a dammed up part of the Colorado River). Our guide told us that back in 1980 engineers widened the arch bridge that spanned the lake by putting crossbeams across the pillars. Those crossbeams had a gap between them. When the pavement was put across the top, the crevices between the crossbeams became perfect “bat caves.” They were dry, hot, and dark.

I don’t know how the bats found out about the place, but when word squeaked out in the bat colonies that Austin had “free housing,” Mexican free-tail bats began to migrate to the bridge and use those caves as a nursery. Every summer pregnant bats come up from Mexico and have their babies under the bridge. The momma bats have one baby (pup) that weighs 1/3 of what the mother bat weighs! And, you thought that your eight pound baby was big? That’s like having a 40 pound baby (or thereabouts). The mothers nurse and nurture the babies through the summer before flying back to Mexico when the cold weather begins.

The population of that bat colony under Congress Avenue Bridge swells to 1.5 million bats, making it one of the largest urban bat colonies in North America. At first Austin residents were afraid of the bats, and they wanted those crevices sealed so they would go away. Fortunately, area conservationists convinced folks that the bat colony would eat 10,000 to 30,000 insects each night! The bat colony was allowed to remain, and their flight each night is a wonderful area attraction.

Many people gather along the bridge at sunset to see the bat “rush.” Others gather in the water on boats. These Austin residents had the right idea! They had a picnic in their kayaks as they waited for the flight. I envied them!

As I said, we were under the bridge on a boat and had a better vantage point for viewing the bat flight. Our guide told us that bats can’t take off flying from the ground, but have to “drop” and fly. From where we were located, we could see them fall into flight. We rode under the bridge and the guide pointed out the stains on the underside. He told us that was how you could tell where most of the bats were.

Those stains are the bat guano — the poop! Bat guano is used as a high quality fertilizer and is used in gunpowder. In fact, I’m told that guano was one of Texas’ largest mineral exports before oil came along. But, guano has another use: guanine is extracted from it, which is used to give “pearly shine” to some nail polishes and mascara! Next time you “bat” your baby blue eyes, you might remember that you do so literally.

The bat flight was magnificent! First we saw only one or two bats which flew out as a “safety check.” Then, a few bats came tumbling out of the crevice and flew away. Suddenly, swarms of bats came out in a “rush” and trails of bats could be seen across the sky! Under the bridge it looked like it was raining bats! They dipped and swerved and looped. They flew directly overhead — and that’s when we discovered the downside of being on the water! Talk about “rain?” “Rain” fell upon us! No, not really rain — the bats peed on us! Suddenly I no longer envied those folks in the kayak.

If you get down to my neck of the woods in Austin, Texas, you should definitely take time to view this spectacular bat flight. I’d suggest seeing it from the water, with a raincoat, goggles, and your mouth shut.

Those Mexican free-tail bats are amazing. But, I’m curious about something: since they were born in Texas aren’t they now American?

Related posts:

1. The Haunted Driskill Hotel in Black and White
2. Ghost Hunt at The Driskill Hotel. Part 1.
3. Vacation is Good
4. Ghost Hunt at The Driskill Hotel. Part 2.
5. Ominous

Tagged as: Austin Texas, Congress Avenue bat colony, Mexican free-tail bats., My Neck Of The Woods, photographs, photos, Texas Travel