Nature
Every Summer, This Hill Country Park Turns Into a Giant Superbat
You’ve probably heard a mighty number of tales about bats flying from under the South Congress Bridge in Austin, but what about the 3 million-plus Mexican free-tailed bats that churn about in old underground railways around Luckenbach?
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department runs a 16-acre state park called Old Tunnel, maintaining it throughout the year for folks who want to stop by from May through October during the emergence time for these one-of-a kind flying carnivores.
At emergence time, kids, families and nature lovers alike gather ’round as a Ranger tells tales of what’s about to come. The audience waits for these lovable creatures of night to swoop out, rush en masse of the old abandoned rail tunnel with screeching purpose. When they do it’s with a flight of fury, as the bats raise hell all at once and in large numbers, swirling around in the dusk-colored skies as one giant Superbat.
It is a sight to behold, indeed. And just another reason to plan for the open roads in our glorious Texas Hill Country.
