The Austin, Texas Bats at the Congress Street Bridge

You learn a lot about yourself when you’re waiting to see the bats fly out from underneath Congress Street Bridge in Austin, Texas. Such as whether or not you have the patience to wait for the bats to fly out from underneath the bridge. So we went to the bridge at around 6:30 to get a prime spot for the…takeoff. We were the only people there, so I started doubting all of the hype. Everyone told us to stand on top of the bridge on the East side. But that seemed really silly to me when I could go to the T.G.I. Friday’s right by the bridge on the riverfront and watch the bats AND have drinks. Much smarter. So we sat and we drank and we waited. And we drank some more and we waited some more. People started flocking to the area, standing on the bridge, sitting on the river bank and filling up the restaurant’s patio. And we drank some more and we waited some more. Finally, a few bats began to trickle out. And that was it. A few bats. For now I’ll just have to keep the picture in my head of the bat country scene from Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, which is what I imagine the bat takeoff to be like. Maybe I’ll have the chance to remedy that on some warmer night this summer.

If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, Austin has the largest colony of Mexican Free-Tailed bats in the State of Texas living under a bridge in the heart of downtown. Not only is the colony the largest in Texas, it is the largest urban bat colony in the United States. Urban bats.

My advice to you is go to the T.G.I. Friday’s to watch the bats fly. The don’t like to come out on cold days, so don’t waste your time and/or cab fare to make the trip if it’s chilly. Also, they live in Mexico in the winter time so visit in the summer. If you’re just looking for an excuse for happy hour drinks on a patio, go whenever you like.