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.
Three Great Ways to
View the Bats
 1.
Capital
Cruises Bat
Watching
Tours
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 $10 for
adults, $8 for
seniors, and $5 for
kids under 12.
This tour fills up
nearly every night
during the summer.
Book a
Reservation
at Capital Cruises
Here.
 2.
Live Love Paddle
Kayak Bat Watching
Tours
Paddle a kayak to see and learn about one of the World's Largest
Urban Bat Colonies in Austin Texas! They meet up at Joe's Crab
Shack on Lady Bird Lake and then kayak up the lake to see the
bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge. They're the only company in
Austin that offers bat tours via kayak. Each group receives a free
appetizer card from Joe's Crab Shack. Prices are
only $35 per person
and tandem boats are
available. The
minimum age on
bat-watching tours
is 5 years of age
and maximum weight
is 275 lbs.
These tours are
currently available
on Sunday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Friday
at 6pm.
Book a Reservation
for Live Love Paddle
Bat Tours Here
 3.
SegCity
Segway Bat Watching
Tours
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.
Book a Reservations
for SegCity Bat
Tours Here
Interesting Bat Facts
-
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 |
