How can enjoying a lavender vanilla latte help our local Austin bats? Hankering for a chai almond milk latte or a double espresso and a cinnamon muffin? Revival Coffee on E 7th supports three local charities every quarter. When you purchase anything at the counter from a coffee drink to a beer to a pastry, they give you a little ticket. You then can choose a charity jar to which you can add your ticket. This quarter Austin Bat Refuge is offered as one of the local charities. At the end of the quarter, the charity with the most tickets receives a percentage donation from Revival coffee. What an awesome way to advocate for Austin’s many organizations and what an easy way for you to go down, grab a delicious drink and support Austin’s bats and the amazing people that dedicate themselves to educating the community about how incredible and important bats are to the world!

Sometimes it is the simplest things that can help bats in your community!

Revival Coffee, 1405 E 7th

https://www.revivaltexas.com/


Brushy Creek Bat Fest was fun!

It was great to see the enthusiasm of all the young bat fans!  This one came decked out in all her best bat finery.
Love the bat berrettes and the Vampirella shirt! She loved Kyndal and her little free-tailed bat pup!

Here’s how the day started.

“Hey Taz!  It’s Brushy Creek Bat Fest today!  Let’s go show the kids how cool bats are!”
He was a star!  And he got 998 likes on Instagram!  What a great bat! Can’t somebody give him just a few more likes?


We got lucky on Friday the 13th and had lovely weather for our education table at the Bat Viewing Area.
We shared the wonders of bats with scores of out-of-towners.
We so enjoyed meeting Sonia from Austria, Anne from France, Ali & Xav from Paris, and that group of impressive women in town for the Anthropology conference, from Virginia, Canada, the UK and Cyprus.
What fun!  Thanks for visiting with us y’all!

We hope the bats were as lucky as we were!  We at the Bat Viewing Area all watched on live radar as  a lovely Seabreeze pushed insects toward the Hill Country and the Bracken bats foraged along the front.  But then things changed.
The lovely Seabreeze turned into wicked storms from the northwest.  Davis Blowout, Huber Limestone Mine, McNeil Bridge, and Congress Bridge bats all appeared to have been caught out in the storms.  We hope they sheltered at McNeil to escape the worst of it.
Bats caught in hailstorms frequently experience broken wing bones from the hail.  Guess we’ll see how many bats are found by humans and brought to us today. Bless their brave little hearts!

 


The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation asked us to “represent” as they announced grants given for “Bats For the Future” at the Shell Campus in Houston’s Energy Corridor. Nothing like seeing live bats up close and personal.  Our “Bat Ambassadors” were the stars of the show!
Thanks NFWF!
bats for the future


Great emergence at Congress Avenue Bridge tonight.  Great fun talking to the tourists from all over the world. Especially the wonderful family from New Jersey whose daughter is going for her Girl Scout Silver Award by creating this website https://sites.google.com/site/maketheworldabattierplace/ Check it out!


They are multi-national, with family from Italy, Spain, and Venezuela and we had great fun surfing Google Earth together. Thanks y’all!
Mount Roraima, Venezuela!


Another great emergence at Congress Avenue Bridge!  Half the bats you see are pups that have only been flying for a week or two. Thanks to all who came by to visit at our info table!
Who says if sunlight hits them they burst into flames?  Apparently the just glow!


We had a blast at the Texas Night Sky Festival on Saturday March 18th.
We met so many people and introduced them all to Buffy, Gabe, Freida, and Nikita.
It was so much fun to see all those smiling faces.
Thanks Kyndal Irwin for spending the last day of SXSW with us out in Dripping Springs!
You were so great with all those kids!  We’re proud to know you!


We are so happy to be a part of the wonderful Austin non-profit community!
Here is a great overview of all the creative organizations making a difference in the Austin area.
And our PSA by bat caregiver Kyndal Irwin is the second one, at the 10 minute mark of this 2 hour video, just before Rebecca Campbell with the Austin Film Society!


Thank you donors! Our first Amplify Austin campaign was a big success! Thanks so much to all those who exemplified the “I Live Here, I Give Here” spirit, especially Individual Fundraiser Kyndal Irwin. Together we provided half a year’s food for Austin’s bats in need.

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Thanks to all our 2017 Bat Angels:
Bridget Robinson, Margret Hill, Fabiola Campos, Amanda Irwin, Nancy Ballard, Dean Wolf, Jennifer Whale, Amber Cho, Kate Asaff, Jodi Bade, Jenny Holt, Shelley Hodges, Theresa Waller, Christine Miller, Susan Brooks, Matthew Putzi, Katie Fike, Cindy Bogard, Laura Rayburn, Martin Selbrede, Rebecca Neel, Anne Zabolio, Monica Donner, Shanna Bogaty, Lauren Suspensky,  Betty Thoene, Ellie Watson, Carmen Garcia, Rory Hertzfeld, Michele Durovec, Dixie Davis, Deborah Daues, Christie Gardner, Robbie Nelson, Debbie Zent, Steve Reddick, Stephanie McCurley, and you seven anonymous secret bat admirers.

Dear Bat Friends,
Please remember the little ones as we count our blessings.
Donate Now! to help Gabe the red bat and pups like this free-tailed baby.

eastern red bat austin bataustin bat Congress Avenue Bridge

As we enter the holiday season, the world celebrates community, supporting the causes that make the world a better place for all its inhabitants.  In our first year, Austin Bat Refuge has already created a center of gravity, attracting donations and a small core of young interns, many or whom will go on to careers in wildlife work.  In this season of giving, we ask you to get involved and support Austin Bat Refuge, the only organization in Central Texas caring exclusively for orphaned, injured, and displaced bats.

Your kind donation is critical to bats, our fascinating friends and allies.
Donate Here to help these wonderful, misunderstood beings.
Or write a check and mail to:
Austin Bat Refuge
P.O. Box 49902
Austin, TX 78765

Here are other ways you can show your support:
Sign up for our Newsletter:
Volunteer:
Donate Items:
and yes, as many of you have done, even
Rescue a Bat in Trouble

or simply:
Follow us on Social Media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Those of you who have brought us an injured bat may have received the following note from us, thanking you for your efforts.  We’ll include it here for those of you landing here from social media:

Dear Bat Friend,

Thank you for your kindness in taking the time to rescue the bat you brought to us; we are in awe of the people who have gone so far out of their daily routine to help an animal in trouble.

We hope that you found it a meaningful experience. It meant a great deal to the bat you rescued, and to us; you are part of an ever-growing group of people who care for an animal that many find, at best, unlovable.

Attempting to rescue a bat can seem frightening for people who encounter them, displaced or injured, around their homes or workplaces, and you may even have been ridiculed by those who don’t understand that bats are worthy of care. But you know how rewarding it can be to make the effort to help wildlife.

If it is possible for you to donate, we ask for your financial assistance so that we can continue to serve as a refuge for the injured and orphaned bats that are brought to us by caring people like you.

Your donation will help save the lives of many more little bats in trouble, like the one you saved.
Please Donate Here

And please become a part of our team by joining our Bat Pack!

austin bat Austin Bat Refuge eastern red bat  austin bat
austin bat free-tailed bat Congress Avenue Bridge   austin bat

Austin Bat Refuge cares for these bats in a setting that minimizes their stress and fear.  Once critical care has stabilized them, they recover in a natural outdoor setting prior to release.  If non-releasable, they live a high quality of life with us in the bat gardens or in spacious indoor habitats with plenty of enrichment. Our many visitors have hearts and minds changed by the experience of seeing bats as we care for them. And seeing them in a natural setting is an educational opportunity leveraged by our social media that serves to counter eons of negative myths about bats.

We have cared for close to 750 bats in recent years (139 so far this year), with the majority of them being released back into the wild. If they make it through the first few days, we have a success rate of approximately 86% (which includes those non-releasable individuals living out their lives in our refuge).

Your tax-deductible donation to Austin Bat Refuge will be deeply appreciated, and promptly acknowledged with a document for your tax deduction.  We are an all-volunteer, state-permitted 501(c)3 NON-PROFIT organization and receive no government funding.  Our costs (not counting volunteer time) can be under $20 for a healthy, quickly-released bat to $200 or more for a bat with a broken bone. Bats that live out their lives in our refuge incur ongoing costs to keep them healthy and well fed.

It is our privilege to care for these orphaned, injured and displaced bats, and your support will give us the ability to do more. Please give us and them a helping hand by mailing a check to our P.O. Box address or contributing to Austin Bat Refuge at this link: Donations

ANY DONATION AMOUNT IS APPRECIATED! And if you can’t give money, please consider donations of volunteer time or items on our Wish List

Thanks so much for caring about these noble, valiant, and amazing flying mammals.

And do please become a part of our team by joining our Bat Pack! 

You’ll get our ABR Newsletter with notices for our springtime Bat Walks!

Thanks so much,

Lee Di (3)

Lee Mackenzie
512-695-4116
leemack@austinbatrefuge.org

Dianne Odegard
512-799-8847
Dianne@austinbatrefuge.org

Austin Bat Refuge
https://austinbatrefuge.org