Everything You Need To Know About Watching Bats in Austin, Texas
When most people think of Austin, visions of things like tasty taco and musicians performing all over town come to mind. Butthe city is also known for its love of certain winged nocturnal animals that appear at sunset. Yep, those are theMexican Free-Tailed Bats.
A 1980 renovation transformed theCongress Avenue Bridgeinto an ideal bat cave, soon attracting migrating Mexican free-tailed bats.Decades later, Austin's bat numbers have swelled and locals have adopted the beloved creatures as neighbors who happily handle the city's bug mitigation and provide an amazing nightly show.
Credit Christopher Sherman.
Bat Season in Austin
Starting in late March and continuing through early fall, North America's largest urban bat population calls Austin home. The bats begin to wake up and start their night flight around sunset. The first few bats begin to trickle out from under the bridge then. After the sun sets, the show really begins, and hundreds to thousands of bats pour out and cascade Eastover Lady Bird Lake.
The best time to witness the bats is around sunset, but the nightly show can take place anywhere from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m.It can take as long as 45 minutes for all of the bats to exit the bridge for the night. Plan to arrive early in order to find parking and get your spot.
Where to Watch
From late spring until early fall, get ready for the sunset show by heading towards the grassy hill vantage point of theStatesman Bat Observation Center, adjacent to the bat bridge.Paid parking is available at the Austin American-Statesman, 305 S. Congress Ave., or you can go down the steps at the corner of Congress Avenueand Barton Springs Road.Bring a blanket, some chairs and sit back and relax.
Visitors and residents alike line up nightly on theCongress Avenue Bridgeto witness thebats fly out from beneath the bridge, forming a surreal dark cloud as they ascend into the night sky.Arrive early for a front row spot (the sidewalk gets crowded) and be sure to face the east, as the bats will fly out in that direction.
If you'd rather make it a more active experience, you can watch the bats emerge from the trail. There are many spots along theat Lady Bird Lake where you can stand to enjoy the view. Try to find a spot east of the Congress Avenue Bridge with a clear view of the sky, but be sure to not block the trail from runners, walkers and cyclists passing by. You can alsorent a kayak, stand up paddleboardboard, canoe or water bikeand join the other aquatic adventurers that float around under the bridge around sunset.
Congress Avenue Bridge. Credit Pierce Ingram.
Bat Tours
You can get an incredible view of the bats from the water withLone Star RiverboatorCapital Cruises, which put you right in the middle of the action on Lady Bird Lake. Or, ply the waters yourself withLive Love PaddleorAustin Kayak Tours, which both offer nighttime bat-watching kayak excursions.
Facts About Bats in Austin
Austin's resident bats are Mexican free-tailed bats, which migrate each spring from central Mexico to various roosts all over the southwestern U.S.
On their nightly flights the bats eat anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects, including mosquitoes and harmful agricultural pests.
Austin's bats are almost all female! In early June each bat gives birth to one single baby bat (known as a pup).
It takes about five weeks after birth for the pups to learn to fly and hunt insects on their own. In the meantime, the mommybats nurse their babies and each can locate her own pup among the thousands under the bridge.
At the end of the season, you can see roughly 1.5 millionbats ascending into the summer sky.
Austin Bat Fest
Austin celebrates its unofficial mascots every year in mid-August (which also happens to be peak bat migrating season) right on the Congress Avenue Bridge.Bat Festhas become the biggest bat-viewing party of the year. Expect tons of live music, local food and drink, more than 50 arts and crafts vendors, children's activities and a bat costume contest (of course!).
Embrace the wonderful weirdness of Austin and come out to see the spectacle of the Congress Avenue Bridge bats for yourself. Be sure to share your bat-watching experience by posting pictures onInstagramorTwitterusing the hashtag #TrueAustin.
Learn more about bat conservation effortsatBat Conservation International.
