The Bat Cave near Concan

[tjavery]

Last weekend we spent 4 nights near Utopia on the Sabinal River. It was a small family reunion - something we've been doing annually since 1972.

Anyway, one night we drove over to the bat cave to see the evening flight. FYI here's the info:
http://www.hillcountryadventures.com/frio_bat_flight_scheduled_tours.html


The cave & exiting bats (click for larger)


Looking away from the cave - trail of bats (click for larger)


Bats in the sky (click for larger)


A hawk approaches (click for larger)


Hawk looking for prey (click for larger)


My son gets excited (click for larger)

Not much to report, the pics say it all. You arrive, go sit, and watch in awe as the bats fly out.

They start churning in the mouth of the cave sometime in the hour before sunset, and then they start pouring out. Shortly after, the hawks come in for dinner.

We stayed for the first flight. Apparently, there's a second flight sometime later. The family and kiddos were too tired to stay much longer, so we left.

If you've never seen this, it's definitely worth going if you're in the area. It was a spectacular show.

[Ay Chihuahua!]

Very cool, TJ!

[Sotol Vista]

the first flight is all the young bats at first, then the older bats come out in the second flight. the second flight still last a while, but we did not stay for the whole emergence of the 2nd flight our first trip, our last trip a few weeks ago we did not even stay for the entire first flight. Its still very impressive watch.


James

 

[homerboy2u]

the first flight is all the young bats at first, then the older bats come out in the second flight.
James

 How do you know the second flight were the older bats?.

[BigBendHiker]

Thanks, TJ!

[Roy]

That second shot is really cool.

[tjavery]

Thanks, y'all.

How do you know the second flight were the older bats?.

Because the older bats are smarter. They wait until there's less light available for the hawks to hunt. (I really don't know. That was pulled completely out of my ***)

[homerboy2u]

Thanks, y'all.

How do you know the second flight were the older bats?.

Because the older bats are smarter. They wait until there's less light available for the hawks to hunt. (I really don't know. That was pulled completely out of my ***)

...somehow, i knew that was coming sooner or later.

[Casa Grande]

bat in the cave....very embarrassing  

[Sotol Vista]

the first flight is all the young bats at first, then the older bats come out in the second flight.
James

 How do you know the second flight were the older bats?.

you can tell just by looking at them....duh!!!!!



seriously though, the guide said this is common that the younger bats emerge first, then after while the older bats come out. When I was there about a week before TJ, some people from UT were there studying the bats. they caught several and attached radio transmitters to them so they could track them. also they were doing infra red video of them from outside the cave and down at the entrance as well. I guess they can get a rough count of them from just about 30 seconds of video

James

[tjavery]

bat in the cave....very embarrassing 

What's even more embarrassing is when that particular bat decides to take flight... in front of other people

seriously though, the guide said this is common that the younger bats emerge first, then after while the older bats come out. When I was there about a week before TJ, some people from UT were there studying the bats. they caught several and attached radio transmitters to them so they could track them. also they were doing infra red video of them from outside the cave and down at the entrance as well. I guess they can get a rough count of them from just about 30 seconds of video

James

That would have been neat to see.

I picked up the latest Texas Highways mag. with the article on bats. They had a photo from inside the Frio cave looking out. It would have been pretty interesting and exciting to be down there during a flight. I'd definitely want some raingear on though

[RichardM]

The bat colony that's currently living under the bridge in Austin used to reside under the west side upper deck of Texas Memorial Stadium. When I was a freshman in Longhorn Band in 1983 they were at their peak. They would start flying around inside under the stadium just before heading out for the evening. This was often just before our evening rehearsal would start, so a lot of us would hang out underneath and watch them swarm. Way cool. And as I recall, they didn't seem to need to "empty their tanks" before heading out. Most of that business seemed to be done underneath where they roosted. Within the next couple of years the bats found the bridge and relocated, presumably on their own.

[tjavery]

The bat colony that's currently living under the bridge in Austin used to reside under the west side upper deck of Texas Memorial Stadium. When I was a freshman in Longhorn Band in 1983 they were at their peak. They would start flying around inside under the stadium just before heading out for the evening. This was often just before our evening rehearsal would start, so a lot of us would hang out underneath and watch them swarm. Way cool. And as I recall, they didn't seem to need to "empty their tanks" before heading out. Most of that business seemed to be done underneath where they roosted. Within the next couple of years the bats found the bridge and relocated, presumably on their own.

If I had the t.u. band playing within earshot of my home, I'd move too.

(sorry, couldn't resist... gig 'em Ags! )

[RichardM]

If I had the t.u. band playing within earshot of my home, I'd move too.

(sorry, couldn't resist... gig 'em Ags! )

Nice one!

One of the things us brass players used to try was to blast out a note or two in an attempt to get the bats to let loose on some unsuspecting woodwind. Sadly, the snare drummers seemed to have the best effect with a well-timed rimshot.

[TexasAggieHiker]

Awesome TJ!