Stable, cooler temperatures after the storms led to the first great emergence in over a week, last night at Congress Avenue Bridge.
Here we see about 1-1/2 million Mexican free-tailed bats on Doppler radar as they head out to the agricultural fields to forage for crop pests.
Winds from the NE at emergence sent them to the SSE about 18 miles past Mustang Ridge along Cedar Creek.
We frequently see them head on a broad reach to the wind, taking advantage of the free ride while knowing the winds normally die down by the time they want to return.
susan ballarini says:
We had so many of them a few years ago. Then someone in the neighborhood began using mosquito spray so heavily it was sickening 🙁 I miss seeing them when sitting out in my garden watching them fly overhead. I HATE pesticides with a passion. I’m in Kyle.
The Refuge says:
Hi Susan, So sorry to hear about your local bats. Hopefully your neighbors will become bat fans like you one day!
But keep watching while out in your garden.
There is a large colony of Mexican free-tailed bats in Wimberley that crosses over Kyle most evenings right at dark.
Sometimes they are at altitude, sometimes low-flying.
Thanks for caring about bats and the natural world.