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Photos by Gerald E. McLeod
Watching bats emerge from their nocturnal bug-eaters is one of the most beautiful natural spectacles, and Texas has them in abundance.
According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Texas has 32 out of 47 bat species found in the United States. The most numerous are the Mexican free-tailed bat, which migrates north of the Rio Grande in early spring and then returns south in October with the first cold fronts.
A single bat can eat up to 6,000 to 8,000 insects in one night, from mosquitoes to plant-killing moths. Texas has the largest bat colony in the world, north of San Antonio in Bracken Cave Preserve administered by Bat Conservancy International (batcon.org), and the largest urban bat colony under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin.
Houston has its own bat colonies (houstontx.gov/parks/batpage.html). The Waugh Drive Bridge over Buffalo Bayou between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive near downtown is home to perhaps the largest year-round bat population in Texas. A smaller, but still significant, colony lives year-round under Watonga Boulevard Bridge in northwest Houston. Both parks have viewing areas for visitors.
In San Antonio, Camden Street Bridge on I-35 near the Pearl Entertainment District is home to a colony of male cantilever bats during the summer months. This has the added benefit of being near the Museum Reach portion of the River Walk, which includes the grotto and other art installations.
At dusk, a small colony of bats emerges from the I-35 flyover on McNeil Road in Round Rock (batsinroundrock.com). The best vantage point is from the Napa Auto Parts Store parking lot at 601 S. I-35.
1,555. in a row. Follow the travel blog “Day Trips & Beyond” at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
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