
Congress Ave., or you can go down the steps at the corner of Congress Avenue and Barton Springs Road. Bring a blanket, some chairs and sit back and relax. Where to Watchįrom late spring until early fall, get ready for the sunset show by heading towards the grassy hill vantage point of the Statesman Bat Observation Center, adjacent to the bridge. Paid parking is available at the Austin American-Statesman, 305 S. Plan to arrive early in order to find parking and get your spot. The best time to witness the bats is around sunset, but the nightly show can take place anywhere from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m. It can take as long as 45 minutes for all of the bats to exit the bridge for the night. After the sun sets, the show really begins, and hundreds to thousands of bats pour out and cascade East over Lady Bird Lake. The first few bats begin to trickle out from under the bridge then. The bats begin to wake up and start their night flight around sunset.

Starting in late March and continuing through early fall, North America's largest urban bat population calls Austin home.

Yep, those are the Mexican Free-Tailed Bats.Ī 1980 renovation transformed the Congress Avenue Bridge into an ideal bat cave, soon attracting migrating Mexican free-tailed bats. Decades later, Austin's bat numbers have swelled and locals have adopted the beloved creatures as neighbors who happily handle the city's bug mitigation and provide an amazing nightly show.Ĭredit Christopher Sherman.

But the city is also known for its love of certain winged nocturnal animals that appear at sunset. When most people think of Austin, visions of things like tasty taco and musicians performing all over town come to mind.
#Late bird sunset how to#
HOW TO EXPERIENCE AUSTIN'S BATS Bat Watching 101
