Bats in the belfry

Who knew that bats are so good for the environment? I sure didn't. In fact, I've never thought much about bats except in 6th and 7th grade when we'd all rush home from school to watch the gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows featuring Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, who was, in fact, a vampire (and sometimes turned into a vampire bat). These are the things that influence our beliefs about these little creatures.

Turns out that the Congress Avenue bridge in Austin is summer home the largest urban colony of bats in the world. Engineers reconstructed the bridge in 1980. Crevices beneath the bridge turned out to be excellent bat homes and they began moving in by the thousands. At first Austonians were afraid and petitioned to have the bat colony eradicated. But then they learned that bats are gentle and incredibly sophisticated animals and that the stereo types about bats are untrue. Bats are not blind, they do not fly into your hair, and they don't bite. Only about 1/10th of 1% of bats ever contract rabies. Most bats feed on insects. In fact, the Austin bats eat about 20,000 pounds of insects each night including agricultural pests and mosquitos. The colony under the bridge has grown to about 1.5 million bats. Each night during the summer, the bats leave their roosts under the bridge at dusk, flying down the Colorado River in search of insects. It's quite a sight!

Rosemary was able to catch some great shots with her digital camcorder so we hope to be able to upload some pics for everyone to see. We sat near the bridge for about an hour and a half waiting for the bats to emerge. It's quite a scene. People line the bridge looking down on the river, while people below in the park huddle beneath the bridge for a glimpse of the bats. As the sun goes down and the skies grow darker, it's harder to see the bats, but you can hear them chattering in their colonies. It's very cool. People visiting the Congress Avenue Bridge to see the bats generate ten million dollars in tourism dollars each year.

I learned a lot about bats today, and I'm glad I did. They're a much better alternative to pesticides, and without them, the balance of our ecosystem would be severly damaged. So...(and you know who I am talking to), when a bat flies into your house, she's not there to hurt you. She actually EATS moths!

Peggy is anxious to add to the blog, so I'll let her sign in. We visited the LBJ Presidential Library earlier in the day--I'm sure she will tell you about it, but suffice it to say, it was quite a moving experience--which surprised me.

Off to Galveston tomorrow....

Kathy