rehabilitation

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.

Posted on October 14, 2017, updated on October 14, 2017 by The Refuge

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!

Posted on October 10, 2017, updated on October 12, 2017 by The Refuge

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!

Posted on October 9, 2017, updated on October 12, 2017 by The Refuge

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.

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Austin bat presentations education talks outreach programs Congress Avenue Bridge

Posted on October 7, 2017, updated on October 12, 2017 by The Refuge

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!”

Austin bat talks presentations outreach education programs Congress Avenue Bridge bats

Posted on October 6, 2017, updated on October 7, 2017 by The Refuge

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.

Posted on October 5, 2017, updated on October 5, 2017 by The Refuge

Groot goes back to the wild! Our wonderful Seminole pup Groot was released last night at Jerry and Jim Czyzak’s property in Red Rock, TX. Jerry found Groot in her swimming pool back in July and brought him to us for drinking lessons. He soon learned to judge his angle better as he swooped down for a drink, but never forgot his pool experience. We could never get him to take more than a drop of water, even on the hottest days when others drank a whole syringe!
Last night he went home and brought with him two female Seminole friends. Those of us who witnessed the release have a feeling there will be lots more baby Seminoles at Jerry’s place next June! 🙂

The Seminole Girls were rescued by Tracy Rider and came to us from TWRC. They gave us so much joy as they learned to fly, then drink on the wing. They were among the most dependable drinkers and were the subjects of many of the drinking videos. Love these bats!

Best of luck Groot and you wonderful Seminole girls! We loved getting to know you all and will miss hanging out with you in the flight cage! We will keep with us your friendship and the memories of your trust in us. Thank you for being so patient with us and knowing we would find a great spot for you. This property has tons of pine trees, part of the Lost Pines of the Bastrop area, and you all will make fine faux pine cones as you hang in the pines all day awaiting the nightly hunt. Our thoughts will be with you always.