Austin's Bat Swarm

by David W. Crump

If you are in downtown Austin on an early summer evening, it is hard to miss our bat swarm. The bat colony emerges just before sundown from their roost under the Congress Street Bridge in search of an insect supper. A winding horizontal vortex of an estimated 1.5 million Mexican Free-Tailed Bats streams from beneath the bridge and then snakes along Lady Bird Lake.

About the Austin Bat Colony

Austin hosts a nursing colony. The bat mothers arrive in early spring and have their baby “pup” normally in mid-June. The young bats learn to fly by late August and then join the evening swarm to hunt for insects. This makes for the most impressive emergences in late August and September evenings. The colony relocates south to Mexico as the colder temperatures of fall approach in October.
 
Mexican Free-Tailed are medium-sized insect eating bats. They are very fast flyers reaching speeds of 60 mph. They are also long-distance travelers often migrating up to a thousand miles between central Mexico, Texas and beyond. The bats benefit our region with their voracious appetite for flying insects.

More information about bats ... www.batcon.org

The Congress Avenue Bridge was widen in the 1980’s and an accident of this redesign was prefect crevices for the nursing mother bats. The setting also attracted colonization with its water and location near prime insect hunting grounds in the Colorado River valley. The bat colony was initially considered a pest but has since been embraced as a tourist attraction and is now a celebrated part of the Keep Austin Weird culture.
 
Central Texas hosts many other bat colonies. The largest is a huge 20 million strong colony near San Antonio in Bracken Cave. Another large colony is located in the Old Tunnel Wildlife Management area near Fredericksburg. A new colony also has just started under the McNeil bridge of I-35 in Round Rock.

Best Time & Place to View

The bats normally emerge just before sundown and fly east to hunt for insects in the Colorado River valley. The south sidewalk of the Congress Bridge is my favorite spot. While other views are available, the Congress Bridge lets you see the columns of bats as they fly east down the river. The bridge vantage point also avoids the odor which can be intense. Arrive about an hour before sundown to claim a good spot. Also, take the time to read the education signs in the small park on the southeast bank next to the bridge.

Bat hotline - Flights normally occurs around 8 to 8:30 pm but could be earlier or later. Call the Bat Hotline at 416-5700 ext. 3636 for estimated flight times.

Summary

The bat swarm from the Congress Avenue Bridge is part of what keeps Austin fun and weird. Enjoy!
 
David W. Crump, Ross Gray Insurance Agency

 

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