Last July, Liz was privileged to go to Austin for a teacher conference. Robert and I tagged along and saw stuff. One of the many things we got to see was the bat flight from the Ann Richards Bridge.
I quote Wikipedia because I be lazy: "Austin's Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, over Lady Bird Lake, boasts the largest urban bat colony in the world. Mexican free-tailed bats live underneath it. The bats reside beneath the road deck in gaps between the concrete component structures.
They are migratory, spending their summers in Austin and the winters in Mexico."
We are migratory too, and chose to see the bats from the vantage point of T.G.I.Friday's by the river.
Wikipedia continueth: "The nightly emergence of the bats from underneath the bridge at dusk, and their flight across Lady Bird Lake primarily to the east, to feed themselves, attracts as many as 100,000 tourists annually. Tourists can see the bats from the bridge, from the sides of the river and even from special boats."
These boats are covered for a reason.
"According to Bat Conservation International, between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats reside underneath the bridge each summer. Since Austin's human population is about 750,000, there are more bats than people in Austin during the summer."
The restaurant told us exactly when to expect the bats.
Sure enough, the bats appeared right on time.
(Last two photos from Wikipedia as well. Now really!)
I quote Wikipedia because I be lazy: "Austin's Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, over Lady Bird Lake, boasts the largest urban bat colony in the world. Mexican free-tailed bats live underneath it. The bats reside beneath the road deck in gaps between the concrete component structures.They are migratory, spending their summers in Austin and the winters in Mexico."We are migratory too, and chose to see the bats from the vantage point of T.G.I.Friday's by the river.Wikipedia continueth: "The nightly emergence of the bats from underneath the bridge at dusk, and their flight across Lady Bird Lake primarily to the east, to feed themselves, attracts as many as 100,000 tourists annually. Tourists can see the bats from the bridge, from the sides of the river and even from special boats."These boats are covered for a reason."According to Bat Conservation International, between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats reside underneath the bridge each summer. Since Austin's human population is about 750,000, there are more bats than people in Austin during the summer." The restaurant told us exactly when to expect the bats.Sure enough, the bats appeared right on time.(Last two photos from Wikipedia as well. Now really!)
