Austin bat

Archie!

This Mexican free-tailed pup was found 17July2016 under Congress Ave Bridge.  This was the first day the skypuppies took flight this year and it seems a mid-air collision grounded him on the footpath.  Bat watchers correctly refrained from handling him and when they alerted us, we brought him back to our facility for care.  We discovered that his forearm was curved in a manner reminiscent of the arches of the bridge, so of course he was named Archie and we expected he would likely not become volant.  To our delight, he was not to be denied the joys of flight!  We left his pup tent open to the flight cage and he bravely joined all of this year’s pups in the aerial circus that resembles a nightly fighter jet dogfight.  He also flits around in the afternoon gliding like a butterfly before cleverly finding his way back to the pup tent for snacks!
We will closely monitor his skills to see if he is up to the fall migration, if not he’ll stay with us and enjoy hunting moths in the bat garden.  Good pup Archie!
Archie 2

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Free-tail release

This bat had fallen into a back-porch bucket during all the rains last week.  She managed to tread water ’till morning, when Matt & Christina found her and rescued her.  We made sure her thumb claws were not damaged (luckily it was a plastic bucket), and then brought her out to the flight cage to make sure she could sustain flight.  We tried a non-toxic tempura paint to ID her (it’s messy if they struggle and swat the paint brush) and you can still see a hint of red on her left ear as she is released back into the wild.  Good bat, nice knowing you!

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Now for the evening bats

The aviary seems huge now that most of this year’s class has graduated from flight school. But now that they’re not grabbing all the visual attention, we can better analyze the skills of the more cryptic species, such as this evening bat, to decide who else is ready for release.

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Kendalia bat from Linda Garriot

evening bats nycticeius humeralis austin bats rescue rehabilitation release

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Yellow bat release

Vibrant young newcomers to the wild Austin nightlife scene, five shining stars took their rightful place in the sky last night. Dianne Odegard does the honors as the last of this year’s yellow pups wings her way off into the night, surveying her new domain and a possible palm tree roost.

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Di & yellow bat at Poquito Creek

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Yellow soaring up to the stars

austin bats rehabilitation release yellow bats lasiurus intermedius

home sweet home for our yellows (we hope)

 

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Leaf bat release

What a great release last night! Such a joy to see them leap from the pup tent and circle above us in the twilight! We’ll miss their nightly insect hunting competition in the flight cage, but our hearts and minds go with them as they soar the night skies, ranging as high and wide as their hearts desire, flying wild and free! Indelible memories little bats, thanks so much!
Oh and your’re not quite ready to go yet sweetheart? Then you can stay with us, we’ll try again later.

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Elise’s pup

Elise found this pup on her doormat back of 18 July 2016 and, being the kind-hearted person she is, took the time to carefully contain the pup in a box (without touching it!) and call us.  He was a very young juvenile who seemed to have let go of his bridge roost before he was quite ready.  After weeks of blended mealworm dinners he was finally doing the wing stretches and one-arm pushups that let us know he’s ready to try again.  So last night we brought him out to the aviary and after just a little encouragement, he took off and flutter-puttered all around the cage till we lost track of him in the darkness.
It’s really surprising just how slow the pups are when they first take flight.  They have a puppy-like appearance with their little ears sticking straight up and a slightly alarmed expression on their faces.  It’s so great to see them slowly gain confidence and soon start to shred the enclosure!
Thanks Elise!  You’re simple act of kindness meant a lot to us, but it meant the world to this pup.

mexican free-tailed bat pup

Elise’s pup

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Barred Owl

It was a normal night in the aviary, watching the bats fly, seeing who looks ready for release and who needs more time.  The eastern red pup that was low on the side wall this morning was flying beautifully so he seems to be recovered.  The northern yellows were flying with astonishing speed and power and I just managed to get a shot of one of the pups (at bottom of the post).
All of a sudden, the yellows crashed back into their palm fronds, I looked up, saw a shadow, and just got this shot as a Barred Owl flew right over the flight cage with a bluejay in it’s talons!

Barred Owl with Bluejay

All the bats took cover so I looked for the owl in a nearby tree and found it staring back at me.
Barred Owl

I watched it feed on the bluejay for half an hour before it went on about its business.  Just check out this series of photos!
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl feeding
Barred Owl & blue feathers 2

After the shadow of the Barred Owl crossed over the aviary the second time, not a single bat flew for the next few hours!
Here’s the photo of the Yellow taken just before the owl crossed over the cage with the jay.  Is it me, or is he shouting “Incoming!”
Northern yellow pup

bluejay feathers

Found under tree next day

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4th of July fireworks – Annual spooking of the bats

For the Congress Avenue Bridge bats, the scariest time of year is 4th of July, when the annual fireworks display takes place just a few hundred yards to the east of the bridge.  The bats are emerging at dark this time of year, exactly at the time the fireworks start.  The emergence peaks around 9:30 pm this time of year, just when the fireworks are reaching their crescendo, seen in yellow on the left.
We normally see greatly reduced emergences for a number of days after the 4th.

4th of July 2016

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