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Congress Avenue Bridge
From The Owner of Congress Avenue Bridge
What Our Expert Scouts Say
February 01, 2013
Bats! That should be all I have to say here. But in case you didn't know, Austin possesses a local population of Mexican free-tailed bats that take flight every evening when the sun goes down, around 7pm. A huge crowd congregates to watch most nights, and it's one of those true-blue Austin experiences that make you feel giddy and awestruck (SO MANY BATS!) all at once.
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Tips for Congress Avenue Bridge
August 23, 2006
Citysearch Editorial Review. Approximately 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats have made the underside of the Congress Avenue bridge their summer home. The bats began congregating after the bridge underwent structural changes in the '80s. Austinites reacted with fear until they learned that the bats consume between 10,000 and 30,000 pounds of insects a night. The bats arrive in mid-March and return to their winter home in Mexico by November.
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Heart
May 01, 2006
Weird but cool. My hotel was at the site of the "bats" so I went down and joined approximately 100 people (young, old, tourists, locals) We waited in a nice park and waited and waited and then out they came. A zillions little bats just kept coming out from under this bridge. I was very weird but cool. I'm glad I saw this because I could never have imagined what 1.5 million bats look like. I also never thought of bats as being "good" for society. We could use some mosquito eating bats in Miami. Wonder if they each roaches and toads.... I would plan it into your schedule. Even just being there doing nothing for 15 minutes before dusk is relaxing. If you have on comfortable clothes you can go for a nice walk or run on the lake (that looks like a river).
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Heart
December 19, 2002
What A Bat-y Night. Be sure to bring a GOOD camera or you'll get pictures of hundreds of people staring at the bridge after sunset.... ;)
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Heart
November 14, 2002
Love those bats!. That was the best thing I had seen in a while! It was so neat to see all the bats flying right at you! There were people there that knew quite a lot about the bats, and they would answer any questions that you had. It was a wonderful way to end the day and start the evening! Best of all... IT'S FREE!!! =)
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Heart
July 30, 2002
EVERYTHINGS BATTY. AWESOME TO WATCH AND IT IS FREE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. KIDS REALLY GET INTO IT.
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Heart
June 11, 2002
Bats and boats. Several things make this a cool bridge. When in season, the bat population flying out each night is a fun highlight. Also, you can just stand here and watch the boats on Town Lake or the sunset. The sidewalks are very wide, providing plenty of space for you.
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