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Austin Congress Bridge Bats

  Map to Austin Congress Bridge Bats
 

Bats Season is Mid-March to Early November
About Congress Bridge Bats
The Congress Avenue Bridge spans Town Lake in downtown Austin and is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America.  The colony is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats.   Each night from mid-March to November, the bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food.  This event has become one of the most spectacular and unusual tourist attractions in Texas.  The most spectacular bat flights are during hot, dry August nights, when multiple columns of bats emerge.  There are several points from which to view the event, and an information kiosk is located on the north bank of the river, just east of the bridge.
 
Bat Watching Tours from Seg City
If you want to catch the bats in style, we'd recommend a bat watching tour from SegCity.  They'll gear you up and teach you how to ride a segway, take you for a spin around downtown Austin including the Texas Capitol building, Sixth Street, and finish up with a great view of the Congress Bridge Bats nightly departure. 

Use this link to learn more about SegCity Bat Tours

Bat Watching Tours from Capital Cruises
Capital Cruises Austin is home of the Largest Electric Paddle Wheel Boat in the Country and the now famous Sunset Bat Watching excursion.   Prices are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $5 for kids under 12. 

Use this link for more information about
Capital Cruises Bat Watching Tours

Interesting Bat FactsBATS!

  • The bats provide a valuable service to the Austin community by consuming between 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects nightly!
  • Bats can live to be 30 years old.
  • Mother bats give birth to a single pup each year.  The pups birth weight is nearly 1/3 that of its mother.
  • Bats are mammals and nurse the pups from mammary glands.  Each female recognizes her pups voice and smell and will nurse only her pup.
  • During migrations to Mexico and back, bats may reach an altitude of 10,000 feet and velocities of 60 miles per hour.

For more information about the Congress Avenue Bat Colony or bats in general, please contact:

Bat Conservation International
P.O. Box 162603
Austin, Texas 78716
(512) 327-9721
Directions: Congress Avenue is one of three major bridges that connect downtown Austin to the South side of Town Lake.  To get there, take either Mopac or IH-35 to downtown and exit on 1st Street.  Proceed towards the center of town.  Congress Avenue Bridge is the bridge located closest to IH-35.

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