Bat Flight

Last night I worked the bat flight. What's a bat flight? That's when approximately 250,000+ Mexican Free-tailed bats exit the natural entrance of the cave. They do it nightly, around dusk and head down towards the Pecos River. It's an amazing sight to observe the bats as they fly in mass out of the cave.

There is an amphitheater near the entrance where a program is held while the visitors watch. The weather was beautiful - clear skies, a slight breeze although a bit warm, but hey, it is July! We had a big crowd, probably close to 700 people to watch.

The bats started coming out of the cave at 7:55PM. The stream of bats was steady and thick as the sun went down. The bats continued their exit and the darkness began to settle in when I was surprised by a full moon starting to rise. It was a spectacular sight, one which I couldn't capture on camera. Due to the bats echolocation abilities, no cameras, cell phone or any other electronics are allowed in or around the amphitheater. It interferes with their echolocation and you certainly don't want to piss off a quarter million bats... do you?

Bats are an important part of our ecosystem. The bats here in Carlsbad eat moths and other bugs. Some bats prefer mosquitoes. Other bats help by pollinating flowers, their guano (poop) is a great organic fertilizer. If you haven't seen bat flight, I encourage you put it on your bucket list. Hope to see you there!

VALHere is a picture from the parks' website.