Up to 250 thousand Mexican Free-tail bats emerge at dusk from the Waugh Street bridge crevices.
This bridge spans Buffalo Bayou between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive less than a mile from downtown Houston, Texas.
Look for the tall building with the American Flag on the top. The AIG tower is directly across the street from the bat viewing platform.
GPS Coordinates: N 29° 35.077' W 95° 14.476'
The bridge serves as a natural habitat for an estimated 250 thousand Mexican Free-tail bats including about 1200 pups.
Visitors peer down at the bats emerging from the bridge in daylight on Sunday, 17 Feb 2008. Note the brake lights as drivers pause to watch.
Latest photo of the bats snuggled into the
bridge crevices under the Waugh street bridge.
WAUGH BATS ON LOCAL RADAR
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It was a great spectacle!
The bats gushed from the bridge at 8:17 pm, 2 minutes before sunset. They streamed East; then lifted up and turned South and flew between the towers.
Visitors got a chance to view a Mexican Free-tailed bat up close in a exhibit display furnished by Texas Parks & Wildlife.
In the photograph - Diana Foss with Texas Parks & Wildlife, gives a presentation about bats to those gathered on the bat viewing platform.
Please meet on the East side of the Waugh Street bridge at Allen Parkway by the bat viewing platform to see and hear about bats.
From the platform, there are good views of the bats dropping from the bridge crevices to begin their nightly excursions.
After the presentation, we'll move up on to the bridge where we can look down on the bats emerging and flying out along the bayou.
Presentations about the Waugh Street Bats will be given by TPWD personnel or Houston Bat Project team members starting about 20 minutes before sunset on the dates listed:
COME MEET OUR VOLUNTEERS - SEE AND HEAR ABOUT THE BATS on the 1st & 3rd Friday and Saturday nights.
3rd Fridays are Family Nights at the bridge
PLEASE NOTE TEMPERATURES - IF BELOW 50° - BATS MAY NOT EMERGE
Friday, Dec 5 - sunset at 5:21 pm
Saturday, Dec 6 - sunset at 5:21 pm
Friday, Dec 19 - sunset at 5:25 pm
Saturday, Dec 20 - sunset at 5:25 pm
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Diana Foss, tpwd
281-456-7029, Ext 21
OBSERVATIONS of BATS at BRIDGE | |
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WEATHER AT WAUGH STREET BRIDGE
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Looking from atop the Waugh Street bridge, Buffalo Bayou flows east towards the Gulf Freeway.
The bats generally fly out from the bridge and hug the south bank for about 200 feet before the column rises up and fly over the trees towards the dandelion fountain and then disperses to fly over the city and beyond, looking for prey.
On KBR Kids Day, many visitors to the TPWD Houston Bat Research booth got first hand knowledge from Doris about Mexican Free-tailed bats.
Initial flight of Mexican Free-tails emerge into the darkening skies from the Waugh Street bridge. A cloud formation still has enough whiteness to allow us to see the black bats fly by as they stretch their wings and search for that evening snack.
Houston Bat Team members Doris Heard and Odie Asscherick, both Galveston Bay area Master Naturalists, entertained an estimated 3,000 visitors along the Sabine Promenade on the KBR kids day event held Saturday, June 14. TPWD handouts about bats in our area were available for distribution to all attendees.
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