The Fall-Out Kids passed their flight checks 2 nights ago so they got released last night.  Here’s a few shots of them tearing up the aviary.
One of the girls had blue lip gloss (Thanks Kat Von D!) on left ear, one on the right, and the male blue on forehead.
We recovered them the next evening for release at their roost on a night when lots of bats were flying in Central Texas.  They were a little freaked out by the whole thing, but we’re sure they’re thrilled to be home!

Thanks for saving them Erika & Ray!

On a brutally cold evening, these free-tails fell from the Bee Cave Park bridge. Saved by Erika & Ray, they’ll ride out the cold weather here at The Refuge. Thanks for caring you two!
The bottom bat is a male, the top two are first year females. They look a little bewildered by all of this, but happy to be warm!

Is this how our bats feel when they fall out of the bridges in torpor, only to find themselves at Austin Bat Refuge?
What’s This?
Fall-out Boy’s cover of The Nightmare Before Christmas –

This little free-tailed bat was found on the ground by young Savannah, in the pasture in front of her house in Brenham, TX.  She has a big heart and wanted to help the little guy, but knew not to pick him up with her bare hands.  She got her mum and they used two sticks to put him in a box, then waited till night and placed him in a tree.  He only stretched one wing, not the other, then fell out of the tree, so they recovered him and brought the little bat to us up in Austin.
When we examined him, we saw why he fell.  He has a painful bruise on his left elbow! It does not appear to be fractured, however, so we think he’ll be just fine with plenty of rest and good food.
Great save Savannah!  And thanks to your mum Ester and younger sister Kylie for bringing the bat to us for some TLC.
This was our 201st bat of 2017 so we call him 17-201, but Kylie says his name is Batman!

No Congress flight on Wed night 13Dec2017, despite warmer temps than previous evening when ~65k flew out of Congress.
Could this mean that the last hangers-on (~400k) finally moved south?
They had moved back up to Huber then came back to IH35 corridor.  Maybe a full week of low temps in the upper 30sF finally convinced them?

About 400k free-tailed bats left Huber Limestone Mine and headed back to Congress and McNeil on the first night after the SNOW!  Calm winds  – Temp 43F, Dew Point 36 F rising, but no precipitation.
We’re surprised to see them move on such a cold night.  They must know there will be little food in the Hill Country after that freeze and that their best shot at finding insects will be in the Blackland Prairie and IH35 corridor. Will they majority finally migrate now? Or will they try to overwinter? We’ll see!

It’s Thanksgiving weekend at The Refuge and we’re taking stock of our blessings.

We are so lucky to be able to do this work and to share our lives with a community of like-minded people, who all help in their own way:

• Rescuers who take the time out of their busy lives to help a bat in distress.
• Volunteers who transport and help us care for these bats; they bring the love to The Refuge each and every day.
• Donors who provide the much-needed funding for tools and supplies.
• Supporters who root us on, both in person and through social channels, and who spread the word about the wonder of bats.
• Mentors who continue to share their knowledge and experience with us, and the opportunity to mentor others.
• The opportunity to contribute to current knowledge of bat ecology through our daily observations, and to share with our conservation colleagues in the scientific community.
• And the bats, who put their trust in us to do the right thing for them, patiently waiting until we figure out just what that might be.

The bats thank you all. They’re not much for saying so out loud, but we suspect that even the most curmudgeonly of them very much appreciate the loving care, until the day arrives that they can take care of themselves. They are our biggest blessing.

We are so grateful for all of these gifts.

Love,

Austin Bat Refuge

We will be doing a small ask for Giving Tuesday, to kick off our end of the year fundraising.
If you would like to share your blessings, please:

DONATE  &  Join the Bat Pack   to keep the love flowing.