Teresa Nichta
8/30/21
We surprised Merlin – yes, actually surprised – with a birthday celebration for his 80th birthday on August 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas. And Mayor Steve Adler of the City of Austin officially proclaimed August 26th as Merlin Tuttle Day, in honor of his success in saving the city’s now world-famous bats.
By Merlin Tuttle
3/2/21
Given overall warming trends, we weren’t surprised to see some 70 to 80° F days in January and February of 2021. But that hardly tells the full story!
Beginning on February 10th, historically low temperatures were recorded across Texas. For eight consecutive days (February 10–18), the temperature hovered between 37° and 9° F with six inches of snow on the ground in Austin, Texas. The first reasonable feeding opportunity for bats likely didn’t occur before the 21st.
The last similar event occurred 32 years ago in 1989. In a 9-day period (December 16–24) the daily temperature ranged from 51 to 4° F but remained below freezing for only two days versus seven in 2021. Fewer people were concerned in those days, but at least hundreds of killed bats were reported.
7/11/19
By Merlin Tuttle
Skybridge Academy is doing something new! While many school administrators might panic at the sight of a bat in the yard, Ariel Miller, founder of the school in Dripping Springs, Texas, recently invited us to install two bat houses in her schoolyard. She hopes to attract hundreds of Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) and use them as teaching aids across Skybridge’s custom-made curriculum.
To put it mildly, the school is innovative! The yard includes a pair of pigs, a beehive, a vegetable garden, and now deluxe housing for bats. Students choose their own subjects and learn practical skills, completely omitting standardized testing. Skybridge alumni have an outstanding track record of achievement regardless of whether they opt to pursue higher education or another career path. (more…)
4/12/19
By Merlin Tuttle
This year’s member night bat cruise was, as usual, a fun event and included MTBC members from as far away as the United Kingdom. Due to unusually frequent spring showers, the bats have been waiting till sundown to emerge, but are still attracting large crowds of viewers.
Our April 12 cruise participants enjoyed a large, three-column emergence that began soon after sundown. If our August 16 cruise is equal to those of the past three years, the emergence will begin before sundown and include four great columns, a truly spectacular event, the best of the year. Leadership and above members receive first-priority bookings for these free nights with me and our staff. Space is limited. Make your reservations early. Don’t miss out!
By Teresa Nichta
3/15/19
Atlas Obscura features travel, exploration and hosts a collaborative guide to worldwide locations of special interest. Bats seem a perfect fit with a publication featuring the world’s hidden wonders! This week, they hosted their first Austin bat watching event, an armada of more than 50 kayakers, led by organization co-founder Dylan Thuras and Merlin Tuttle and sponsored by SXSW, Gore-Tex and Congress Avenue Kayaks.
Merlin provided a brief dockside introduction to the Congress Avenue Bridge’s famous free-tailed bats and an introduction to the diversity and importance of bats worldwide. Participants came from as far away as Australia and Brazil and peppered Merlin with enthusiastic questions. The event was so popular that an unfortunately large number of hopeful registrants had to be turned away.
It was a beautiful spring evening, and some 200,000 overwintering bats emerged prior to sundown. Hundreds of thousands more are expected to arrive soon, migrating north from overwintering caves in Mexico. Unusual entertainment was provided by two small falcons, extraordinarily determined to feast on bats. Fortunately for viewers rooting for the bats, these two hawks turned out to be the least competent bat catchers Merlin has ever seen. We counted more than 20 failed chases! (more…)
The following ten speakers each had 6 minutes to promote a subject in their area of expertise. Merlin, of course, promoted bats with emphasis on those in Austin and had an outstanding response. Watch his presentation!
9/10/18
By Merlin Tuttle
For many years we’ve wondered just how many Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) could cram into a single 18-inch-deep bridge crevice. Accurate counts of large colonies are difficult no matter how they’re made. However, when estimating bridge colonies, it would help if we knew the number, using an average horizontal foot of crevice.
The solution seemed easy. Two years ago, Glen Novinger, an MTBC member and I, inserted two, three-quarter-inch-thick wooden frames, each encompassing a square foot of interior space, into bridge crevices of the same width while the bats were out feeding. The idea was to later slowly remove them, forcing those roosting inside to exit into a cloth-lined bag from which we would count them.
However, the bats were full of surprises. The first night we waited patiently till half an hour after we’d seen the last ones leave—or at least that was what we thought! But when we approached to install our devices, roughly half remained inside. I couldn’t help but wonder how many emergence counts had missed those that, for whatever their reasons, didn’t emerge at sundown. (more…)
8/28/18
By Merlin Tuttle
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has set world records when it comes to helping bats, and that special help is paying big dividends for Texans and for countless visitors. Thanks to the enthusiastic early leadership of Supervising Bridge Engineer, Mark Bloschock and the continuing efforts of Stirling Robertson, now in charge of Strategic Projects, and John Young, an Environmental Specialist, TxDOT is taking great pride in its accomplishments.
On August 21, Stirling and John organized a special bat evening for 30 of TxDOT’s most important media and public information officers. They each received a copy of Department’s new guide to bat watching at state bridges, attended my 20-minute presentation at TxDOT headquarters, then joined me for a special Congress Avenue Bridge bat watching evening. We were delighted when we learned that Mark, who is now retired, would be able to join us.
The bats performed beautifully, and Stirling reported, “There has been overwhelming positive response to your talk and the whole event. Good stuff!” A big thank you to Stirling for making this event possible! We look forward to future collaboration and many more bats in Texas bridges.
Nature Nights at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a free family-fun event held each summer. Merlin Tuttle and Lucas Miller were the main entertainment for Nature Nights: BATS! on June 21st. Merlin’s bat photographs captivated the children and their parents alike. Afterwards, Lucas Miller, “The Singing Zoologist,” performed for the crowd with his “silly songs about serious science.”
Live bats, courtesy of Dianne Odegard and Lee McKenzie from Austin Bat Refuge, were a big hit.
