Austin Bat Colony
Bat Conservation International link below
http://www.batcon.org/index.php/get-involved/visit-a-bat-location/congress-avenue-bridge/subcategory.html?layout=subcategory
What a great thing to do all ages! And it is educational. We have taken people with kids as young as 4 up to my grandmother who is in her 80's to see the bats depart in the evening. Everyone loved it and talked about it for days afterward. This is the largest URBAN bat colony in the US. We have watched the bats several ways. We have been under the bridge, which has a carnival atmosphere. There are vendors selling everything from ice cream to light up toys for the kids. However, you cannot get the full effect of how many bats are departing because the trees block quite a bit of the view. We have watched the bats from up top, which allows you to see the colony flying for miles but you don't see them coming out of the crevices in the bridge. It is crowded and a busy street so watch the kids closely. Our favorite was to take a boat tour which puts you in the water under the bridge. You can see them departing and because you are on the water the trees don't block your view of the almost 2 million bats flying into the distance. We went on Capitol Cruises http://www.capitalcruises.com/bat-watching/.
The boat ride cost us $10 for adults and $5 for kids. We were put on the waiting list so that we didn't have to pay in advance but we were able to get on the boat because others were late or didn't make it.
This is a highly recommended activity for anyone in the Austin area.
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