AT: Waugh Bat Chat Field Trip

Please join us for an evening visit to the Waugh Bat Colony. If you have not yet seen this impressive roost, you have been missing out!

Friday, July 20th
Bat Talk begins at 6:30 P.M.
Parking available at Spotts Park, 401 S. Heights Blvd., Houston
Walk over to Waugh Bridge

Contact Person: Debby Wendt

One of Houston’s best-kept secrets is its bat population. The Waugh Bridge Bat Colony consists of Mexican free-tailed bats that emerge nightly to stretch their wings and feed on area insects.

Unlike many other Texas bat colonies that migrate south during the winter months, the Waugh Bridge Bat Colony remains in Houston throughout the year. This may be the largest colony of Mexican free-tailed bats that reside in Texas all year. The huge majority of bats at other bridges and caves migrate to Mexico for the winter. The 1.5 million bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge Bat Colony in Austin, for example, begin migrating south to Mexico in the fall months, ending their twilight emergences until the following spring. Bats play key roles in keeping a wide variety of insect populations in balance. In the U.S., brown bats often eat mosquitoes and can catch up to 1,200 tiny insects in an hour. Large colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats eat tons of pests weekly.

Waugh Bridge Bat Chat

If you’re looking for an informative evening at the bridge, “swing by” any first or third Friday of the month year-round for a free-to-attend Bat Chat with Houston Area Bat Team volunteers.

The team typically meets on the East side of the Waugh Drive bridge along Allen Parkway by the bat viewing platform at 6:30 pm to answer questions and assist attendees with viewing.
Date: 07/20/2018 (Fri.)

Time: 6:30pm – 9:00pm CDT