Today we took care of some chores around the house. Both Rich and Jackie are working today and we have plans to meet up with them later.
Household chores done, both inside and out, we took to the roads of Austin to take care of some errands we had to run. Before returning back to the campground we stopped at a local grocery store to pick up our share of the dinner we’ll have with our friends.
Rich and Jackie had picked up a good sized pork loin at Whole Foods on Sunday and we contributed sweet potatoes, a mix of fresh green beans and carrots, a loaf of freshly made bread from the bakery and nice garden salad. Oh, what a feast we enjoyed. Rich was in charge of cooking the pork loin and he used the most delicious tasting dry rub on it. It was done to perfection on the grill.
After dinner the four of us went to downtown Austin for the “show”.
My first trip to Austin was in the early 90’s for a conference on Family Support Groups with the Delaware National Guard. I saw the “show” then and was thrilled at the idea of seeing it again and sharing the experience with Bob. It truly is a sight to see.
We found parking and walked two blocks to the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue bridge, or as it is commonly called, the Congress Avenue Bridge. We took our place on the bridge and waited.
Clouds were moving in and that is something we didn’t want.
We had to wait until dusk so we watched the boats on the Lady Bird Lake below. We watched rowing teams practice….
We watched small motor boats and kayaks….
We watched the gathering crowd on the bridge go from this….
to this….. (and a whole lot more as the evening went on)
We watched the crowd gather on the grassy area below, all waiting for the “show” to begin.
We watched as the sun went from this ……
to this……
All this watching and waiting.
We watched the cruise boats getting into position.
By now, if you don’t know why we are here, you must have figured out that this is some BIG attraction.
There was this fellow who walked very fast past everyone and handed out these cards on his way.
We each got a couple of dollars out to give the fellow on this return trip but we didn’t see him again.
We are here to watch around 1,500,000 BATS fly out from under the bridge. Yes, 1.5 million bats. I saw this nearly 20 years ago and it truly is a sight to see. Actually, the 1.5 million number is probably correct at the height of the bat watching season.
The bats, mostly female, have been coming to this bridge since 1980 and it is their nursery. The bats are pregnant when they arrive in the beginning of March through April and they stay into the fall.
At dusk, the bats fly out en masse’ to feed. One long black ribbon in the sky as they fly to their feeding grounds.
They didn’t come out tonight! Jackie called the bat hotline for times they should come out and was told that the flight should take place between 8 and 8:15. Granted, it was quite windy, Bob even had to hold onto his hat a few times, so that may have kept them under the bridge this night. After all, a bat weighs in at less than an ounce, equivalent to three nickels. We saw, at Bob’s estimation, about 56 bats fly out from underneath the bridge and fly right back under. There was no show tonight. Maybe they came out after we left when the wind died down. With the direction of the wind and being such lightweights, I can see why they didn’t come out. Still, I was so disappointed.
I did find this video for you, so you can see what we missed. Click HERE
Here’s another one that is a bit longer, but very informative too, turn the speakers up. Click HERE
It takes about 45 minutes for all the bats to vacate the bridge.
One thing I couldn’t understand was why the people in the boats didn’t have umbrella’s (clear of course) or at the very least, hats. Think about it, when you get up from sleeping where is the first place you go in the morning? (After turning the computer on of course) To the bathroom! Darn if I’d want to sit under 1.5 million bats who just woke up!
So our bat watching experience left a lot to be desired, 1,499,944 worth of bats to be exact, but it was a fun evening talking to all the other hopeful bat watchers and spending time with friends we enjoy so much.
On the way back to the car we all got a chuckle from this Hooters Restaurant sign.
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