What is the best time to see bats in Austin?

What is the best time to see bats in Austin?

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 do the bats live in Congress Bridge?

Use this link to check the local sunset time in Austin and plan to get there 90 minutes before so you get a good seat. You can view the bats for free by standing on the bridge and also in a bat viewing area located on the southeast corner of Congress Bridge and Lady Bird Lake.

Are the bats flying in Austin yet?

Mid Oct 2020: There are still lots of bats at the bridge (pretty much the whole summer colony), but they are mostly flying right at, or after dark. Best viewing down on the trail under the south side of the bridge. Early May 2020: Bats are flying later nowadays, around dark, as is typical at this time of year.

Where is the largest urban bat colony?

Austin
Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, located in the heart of downtown Austin, hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

Where is the best place to watch bats in Austin?

Congress Avenue bridge
The walkway on the east side of the Congress Avenue bridge offers the best vantage point for watching the bats emerge and fly eastward over Lady Bird Lake. The hillside below the bridge is a little more kid-friendly since you can spread out a blanket and even have a picnic while you wait.

Do bats come out every night?

Bats are largely nocturnal, meaning they are most active after sundown. Specifically, little brown bats emerge from their dark roosts two-to-three hours after dusk to feed. After feeding, they return to their roosts to sleep out the rest of the night and day hanging upside down.

Do the Austin bats always come out?

The bats do continue to fly out every single night, but some nights they are very difficult to see. By the first week of November, the bats have begun to migrate, for it is starting to get cold and there is low visibility. Every morning, the bats return to the bridge about 30 minutes before sunrise.

How many bats are on the Austin Bridge?

1.5 million bats
The Bat Bridges of Austin, Texas | Austin. 1.5 million bats spend their summers under a Texas bridge. From February to November, Austin goes batty. Hundreds of people gather in the Texas capital every day at sunset to watch an estimated 1.5 million Brazilian free-tailed bats emerge from the Congress Avenue Bridge.

What do people in Austin call themselves?

Residents of Austin are known as Austinites.

What bridge crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin?

The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge (formerly known simply as the Congress Avenue Bridge) crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas.

When was the Congress Avenue bridge rehabilitated in Austin?

The bridge was rehabilitated in 1980. On November 16, 2006, the Austin City Council renamed the structure the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge at its weekly meeting.

What does the Richards Bridge cross over?

The Richards Bridge at dusk. View from the Richards Bridge. The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge (formerly known simply as the Congress Avenue Bridge) crosses over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Before construction of the Longhorn Dam was completed in 1960, the bridge crossed the Colorado River from which Lady Bird Lake is impounded.

What is the significance of the bridge bats in Austin?

The bridge bats have become an integral part of Austin’s cultural identity. Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world’s largest urban bat colony, which is composed of Mexican free-tailed bats.