The majority of people picture delicious tacos and live music all across Austin when they think of the city. However, the city is also renowned for its adoration of certain flying nocturnal creatures that emerge around dusk. That’s right, those are Mexican Free-Tailed Bats.
Following renovations in 1980, the Congress Avenue Bridge was turned into the ideal bat cave, drawing migratory Mexican free-tailed bats. Years later, Austin’s bat population has increased, and the city’s inhabitants have taken to the lovable animals as neighbors who willingly take care of the city’s bug-removal needs while also putting on a spectacular nightly display.
Lady Bird Lake is crossed by the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, TX. The Colorado River, from which Lady Bird Lake is impounded, was spanned by the bridge until the Longhorn Dam’s construction was finished in 1960. Since the late 19th century, when the first span over the Colorado River was built there, the bridge has been known as the Congress Avenue Bridge. On November 16, 2006, the Austin City Council renamed the current bridge in honor of Ann W. Richards, the 45th Governor of Texas and a longtime resident of Austin. The bridge is a concrete arch bridge with three car lanes going south and three going north, as well as walkways on both sides.
The biggest urban bat colony in the world is now located on the bridge. It is a maternity colony, meaning pregnant bats roost there in the spring and raise their young there from the middle of summer to the end of the year. Male bats are not under the bridge until the pups are born.
The result is a breathtaking sight as they soar in enormous formations up to two miles above the ground from beneath the bridge in order to devour mosquitoes, moths, grasshoppers, and other flying pests. There are various places you may take in the view, with the vicinity of the bridge being the most well-liked. Others like observing from Lady Bird Lake’s boats or the Statesman Bat Observation Center, which is located at the bridge’s southern end.
The center works with Bat Conservation International to promote ecotourism while working to raise public knowledge of bats and their significance.
The University of Texas at Austin
Lavender Springs Assisted Living