Mexican free-tailed bat. Cute, harmless, loves mosquitoes.
Austin is ultra proud to be home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. Around sunset each night during the summer, 750,000 to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats (mostly females) emerge from their roost under the Congress Avenue Bridge to search for insects. Visitors know to stand on the bridge’s east side and watch the seemingly endless flurry of hungry bats taking flight. The scene is both beautiful and stunning, as the bats look almost like dark rain clouds as they cluster in the sky. These furry little guys don’t bother people (they don’t actually get in your hair), but each night they gobble up 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects. That’s great news for us in Austin, as it keeps the mosquito population at bay.
This video offers a unique view from one of the “Bat Tour” boats on Ladybird Lake. Plus you get to learn about the bats from the resident bat expert on the tour. Interesting stuff.
Wanna raise your own colony of mosquito eaters?
Be sure to check out our bat house and our bat condominium, as well as our do-it-yourself easy bat house kit. All BirdeeBird stuff is made in America by wildlife experts, and made with sustainbly harvested woods (you’re welcome, Mother Nature).