I am in Austin for a conference which starts today and yesterday I was able to poke around a bit on my own. Cute little city. One of the highlights was watching the bats emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Apparently Austin has always had a large bat population and when the Congress Bridge was renovated in 1980 the bats all had a place to call home. There are around 1.5 million bats living in the narrow deep openings of the bridge making it the largest urban bat colony. Around dusk people start to gather on the Southeast corner of the bridge, on the grassy area next to the bridge and in boats underneath. A little after sunset my friend and I started to hear the little guys pour out right under where we were standing. When lights flashed or the boats would shine a red light upwards we could see them coming out in a frenzy flying in a winding ribbon into the city. Needless to say I did not get one mosquito bite while in Austin!
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Hey,one and a half million bats. Some colony. A few of them made it to Beaver Meadow. I have not gone on bat patrol this year. I am afraid they are still there. Pooping in my attic. You have a relative in Austin Tx. Marks daughter. She is a Stoltenberg. Love your blog…”G”
Michele met some TX Stoltens when she worked at the bridal shop in Austin … ask her about it. Small world.