How did it start? Bat Facts! Located along the Museum Reach segment of the River Walk, Foster Road Bridge Ann W. Richards I-35 Bridge the expansion joint under the concrete bridge is the perfect Waugh Drive Bridge Bats’ use of bridges as roosts came to TxDOT’s attention • Male bats sing during courtship. Beyond the Road San Angelo home. The colony’s close proximity to the river gives the bats an Downtown Houston TxDOT Environmental Affairs Division in 1980 when a colony of Brazilian free-tailed bats moved Congress Avenue Bridge at Lampasas River • Bats drink “on-the-fly,” swooping over water for Downtown Austin Salado open area to glide through when they emerge for their nightly into the crevices beneath the newly reconstructed quick sips. feeding of agricultural pests. Since 1917, the highway department has built roads Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin. At the time, there The San Antonio River Authority hosts annual Bat Loco events at shaped around the state’s scenic splendor and cultural were many unanswered questions about the bats’ impact • Baby bats are called “pups.” Lady Bird Lake To BELTON the intersection of Camden and Newell streets to highlight the 10 heritage. Engineers eased travelers’ journeys by on the structural integrity of the bridge and potential 306 • Recent research shows bats climb thousands of feet Cesar Chavez St. bat colony, educate the public about the importance of bats and 87 building beautiful bridges, paving scenic roads and health risks to the public. Lampasas River into the sky and use tail winds to reach speeds near spread awareness of bat conservation. The annual “Bat Loco creating welcoming roadside parks. Today, the 1670 Blvd. Heights A joint investigation led by TxDOT engineer Mark 100 mph. Bash” in August concludes the event series with food trucks, Washington Ave. Environmental Affairs Division at TxDOT helps care 35 Studemont Dr. 378 S. 1st Street educational booths, kids’ activities, and, of course, the bats! Bloschock and Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation ve. Barton Springs Road A for the state’s natural and cultural resources in tandem • Bats are not blind. Echolocation is a supplement to Rd. Foster Elmer King Rd. Memorial Dr. 45 International and current head of Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Dr. Sheperd their excellent vision. 35 with this vision. E. Riverside Congress Conservation, found that bridges and culverts are among Amity Rd. Allen Pkwy. the favored man-made roosts for a number of bat • Bat knees face backward as an adaptation to bats W. Dallas St. hanging upside down. Additionally, the tendons in their To SALADO species. Los Olmos Bridge Dr. Waugh toes lock, allowing them to hang without using up Riviera TEXAS BATS energy. The Foster Road Bridge over Loop 306 in San Angelo offers The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, located in A large roosting colony of Brazilian free-tailed bats was Waugh Drive Bridge spans Buffalo Bayou, less than two miles Bat-viewing Tips viewing opportunities for Brazilian free-tailed bats. The bats the heart of downtown Austin, hosts one of the largest urban discovered under the I-35 bridge over the Lampasas River in Bell west of downtown Houston. An estimated 250,000 Brazilian • Bats from a single bridge eat tons of crop pests in a • Do not shine flashlights or fire camera flashes into the roost in narrow crevices on the underside of the bridge. They bat colonies in the world, estimated at 1.5 million bats. County near Salado. When it was time to replace this bridge, free-tailed bats call the bridge home. Upon emerging single night. In spring, bats intercept migratory pests first arrive in late March and are wholly absent by the end of It is a maternity colony, and mother Brazilian free-tailed bats TxDOT estimated the number of bats using the bridge, the at sunset, the bats usually fly east along the bayou before faces of emerging bats; after bats have flown past it is before they can reach Texas crops, saving farmers November. During the last decade, spring and early summer (aka Mexican free-tailed bats) raise an estimated 500,000 pups amount of roosting habitat the existing bridge offered, as well RIVIERA 771 dispersing. okay to fire a flash camera. populations have fluctuated between a few thousand and each year at the bridge. as the microclimate where the bats roosted. Using this millions annually. While the majority of bats at other bridges and caves migrate 150,000 bats. But from late summer through October, when information, TxDOT placed specially designed bat boxes on the 1090 • Loud noises may cause bats to delay their emergence, 1072 Large numbers of bats began roosting in the Congress Avenue 1080 to Mexico each winter, many of the Waugh Drive Bridge bats maternity colonies have mostly dispersed, up to 184,000 have new bridge, replacing the habitat that the old bridge offered. spoiling the show. Bridge in the early 1980s, shortly after it was renovated. Few do not. Experts think these bats may make up the largest been recorded. The best time for viewing is at sunset. The bats occupied the boxes shortly after they were initially 2340 people understood how valuable the bats were, and many 285 77 colony of Brazilian free-tailed bats that resides in Texas all • Do not throw objects at flying or roosting bats. placed. Viewing opportunities are available from Pace Park feared them. Today, Austin loves its bats, and this interna- year-round. located off Main Street in downtown Salado; look northwest to • Give emerging bats the right of way. tional tourist attraction brings 140,000 people and as much as the bridge over I-35. In 2006, a bat observation deck was installed in Buffalo Bayou $10 million to Austin every year. • Bats found on the ground may be sick or injured. Park, with free parking at Spotts Park. The park gives free bat Please do not touch them. McNeil Overpass at I-35 Watch from the lawn of the Austin American-Statesman’s Bat presentations Thursday through Saturday during summer. Round Rock Observation Area, which offers educational kiosks year-round Amarillo “Bat Chats” occur at the bridge on Friday nights from March and volunteer bat educators on weekend evenings from A large colony of Brazilian free-tailed bats is present year- through October. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before sunset TxDOT’s Bat Program May through September. You can also get nice views of the Camden Street Bridge round at the bridge over Los Olmos Creek on US 77 near Wichita San Antonio River Walk Riviera, 19 miles south of Kingsville. To access from the north to hear the presentation. Houston Area Bat Team members are Equipped with information on bats’ roosting preferences, HIGH Falls long columns of emerging bats from atop the bridge itself. PLAINS Texarkana heading south, watch for a gravel pull-off area on the west on hand to answer general questions about bats as well as ROLLING Round Rock Ave. Boat tours are available from Lone Star Riverboats and Capital TxDOT designs and retrofits bridges and culverts where side of the road about 0.1 mile north of the actual bridge. questions about the Waugh Drive Bridge colony. PLAINS Mayes it is appropriate and economical. Lubbock Fort Worth Dallas Cruises. 620 To access from the south, cross over the bridge and watch for Abilene BLACKLAND Longview N. St. Mary’s St. Buffalo Bayou Partnership offers boat trips on the bayou. El Paso PRAIRIES a gravel pull-off area on the east side of the road. CROSS Grimes A.W. 281 Gattis School Rd. TxDOT’s bridge engineers and biologists work together McNeil TIMBERS AND PINEY 368 PRAIRIES to evaluate and design bridges and culverts that can TRANS-PECOS WOODS San Angelo POST OAK Casa Blanca St. double as bat roosts. In areas where the presence of bats MOUNTAINS SAVANNAH EDWARDS Austin is not desirable, TxDOT biologists carefully and humanely 45 PLATEAU Houston 35 Alpine 35 San Antonio River exclude bats from their bridge roosts. TxDOT waits until San Antonio 35 E. Quincy St. Jones St. the bats have migrated south and then makes minor GULF PRAIRIES AND MARSHES changes to bridges and other structures that will make Camden St. SOUTH TEXAS Most people may be familiar with the Congress Avenue Bridge the structures unattractive to bat colonies. PLAINS 37 bats in Austin, but there is another bat colony 15 miles north of Corpus C Laredo Austin in Round Rock that offers bat-viewing opportunities Christi Nestled under the I-35 bridge where it crosses the San Antonio To learn more about TxDOT’s with almost as many Brazilian free-tailed bats. Free parking is M River near Camden Street, a colony of approximately 50,000 Environmental Division, McAllen available at the NAPA Auto Parts store parking lot on a Y TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Brownsville male Brazilian free-tailed bats roosts during the summer months. go to www.txdot.gov, first-come, first-served basis. keyword “Beyond The Road” CM MY • TRANS-PECOS MOUNTAINS • CROSS TIMBERS AND PRAIRIES CY • HIGH PLAINS • BLACKLAND PRAIRIES ROLLING PLAINS POST OAK SAVANNAH CMY • • 32 Bat Species in Texas EDWARDS PLATEAU PINEY WOODS Arranged regionally. Color codes correspond to map. • • K • SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS • GULF PRAIRIES AND MARSHES Mexican Long-nosed Bat • California Myotis • Fringed Myotis • Long-legged Myotis • Western Red Bat • Townsend’s Big-eared Bat •••• Southern Yellow Bat • Northern Long-eared Myotis • American Parastrelle •••• Ghost-faced Bat ••• Eastern Red Bat •••••••••• Hoary Bat •••••••••• American Perimyotis •••••••• Northern Yellow Bat ••••• Seminole Bat •••• Rafinesque’s Big-eared Bat • (endangered) (Myotis californicus) (Myotis thysanodes) (Myotis volans) (Lasiurus blossevillii) (Corynorhinus townsendii) (threatened) (Myotis septentrionalis) (Parastrellus hesperus) (Mormoops megalophylla) (Lasiurus borealis) (Aeorestes cinereus) (Perimyotis subflavus) (Dasypterus intermedius) (Lasiurus seminolus) (threatened) (Leptonycteris nivalis) A small bat with short limbs and a A large bat with large ears featuring A large bat with a relatively long tail, A medium-size bat with a rusty red A medium-size bat with extremely (Dasypterus ega) A small bat with long ears and a A small gray bat with a distinct A medium-size, reddish-brown or A medium-size, distinctly rounded, A large bat with short round ears.