Author: The Refuge

The Healing Power of Travel

A recent episode of Rick Steves Europe titled “Greece’s Peloponnese” included Epidavros, the Greek healing center where doctor-priests performed the work of Esclepios, the Greek god of medicine. This center served Greeks from ~400 BC to 426 AD.

When demonstrating the acoustics of the 12,000 seat amphitheater that entertained those who traveled there for healing, Steves gave a speech meant to sound as if delivered by an ancient Greek: “Friends, Greeks, wayfarers, in these times of discord, fear is rampant in our society.  I contend that the flip-side of fear is understanding, and those who travel reap great understanding by meeting people who hold OTHER truths to be self-evident and God-given.”

We love this about Rick Steves and we wish that we could travel more to experience the truths of other cultures.  We hope that one day we can do so, but in the meantime, we get to have travelers come to us as we staff the information table at the Congress Avenue Bridge Bat Viewing Area.  Thanks so much to all the intrepid travelers who took the time to write in our Bat Journal!

In the future we’ll make a point of asking more about THEIR lives. Much as we love to have them log their impressions of the Austin bats, we want them to share THEIR truths and gain some insight into the way THEY see the world!

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D-Day’s Big Night

Our former neo-nate D-Day had his big night last night!  He and all his classmates joined the Congress bat colony, in plenty of time to integrate prior to their migration south in a few weeks to come. So thrilling to watch them go!

D-Day was found on June 6th as a newborn pup clinging to the top of the bridge with just his feet and tail sticking up under the railing.
Dianne rescued him and hand-raised him and his free-tailed classmates from little specks, so tonight was emotional, as the end of their captive upbringing and the beginning of their new life as part of the wild Congress Avenue Bridge colony! Go with the bat gods, with the wind, with your guts, little pups!

 

Danielle O’Neil’s great photo of D-Day at 3 weeks:

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Just to train them correctly, we waited until all the tourists left before releasing them from the top of the grassy slope of the bat viewing area ;). (It seems the Congress colony waited to emerge until the crowd of tuna boats, kayaks, LED lights, and red lights went away, before they emerged.) So our pups will learn from the best!  That means, of course, that our pup also did not cooperate with the paparazzi, so no videos or photos of the release! Good bats! This photo from the flight cage earlier in the season.

People from Poland, France, and Alaska all came to see the emergence last night!  We love having our information table at the bridge to help inform the tourists about the bats.

 

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So long little pip, live long & happy

Love you little bat!  Go have a happy happy life!

Here’s a last look at you pre-release

You look so good up there! Look at all those quick darting moves! Are you showing us how happy you are to be wild and free?

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Last Look at Morris!

Here’s our boy pre-release. We’ll miss his antics and amazing leaf dancing!

And here’s his final wave goodbye!  He is a fine young bat and we have every confidence he will live a long and happy life!

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Last Leaf Pup Heads Out

Morris!  Last leaf bat of the year heads out.  And what a great bat he was!
You were so much fun little bud!  We’ll miss you!  All the best!

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20 Tons of Bats Just Flew Out of That Bridge!

Good-sized crowd – Great emergence at Congress Avenue Bridge.  Even though they flew right about dark, they were backlit by the city lights and everyone down below got a great view!J

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Loops and Swoops

We love to watch the behavior of the bats while they are hunting.  The top photo shows a red bat echolocating a moth above his head just before he loops up to attempt a capture.  We’re not sure if he caught one this time, but the bottom photo shows him flying around with a moth he captured a few minutes before the top photo was taken.   The photos are obviously out of focus, but they capture hunting behavior so well that we had to post them.

Austin bat presentations outreach programs talks education

Austin bat presentations education talks outreach programs Congress Avenue Bridge

 

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Fire the Lasers!

Free-tailed pup trying on his scary face for Halloween.  We’re not buying it – still way cute!
Best Insta-replies?
From pink_1101floyd “Fire the lasers!”
From 747mandi “Game face!”

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Ebb & Flow

Huber Limestone Mine bats left their Marble Falls roost and headed towards the Blackland Prairie last night, arriving in Austin and Rock Rock around 11 pm.  There is apparent comingling of the colonies as they hunt, suggesting considerable ebb & flow between the roosts on a regular basis, either nightly or during shifts in short-term weather patterns.

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