Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge

Home to the largest urban colony of bats in the US! Up to 1.5 million fly from underneath the bridge to forage for food at dusk. Submit photos or video of your SXSW bat encounter to ireport.cnn.com!

It was amazing to see. There is information about the bats along the north east side of the hiking trail . The crowd thins out after the first few minutes. The bats keep coming for about 20 minutes.

Take a walk over this bridge to get gorgeous views of the lake , and if you're here in the summer, you can see the bats fly out at dusk - amazing to see.

Pretty fun! Beautiful park below with a great view of the bats coming out at dusk. Pretty interesting and you can watch it from a kayak or boat as well !

The bats are really small, try to go to the right end (south side) of the bridge , that's where they will emerge from

Cool creepy and gross all at once to see 1.5 million bats swarm outs. Wear pants, shoes , and a hat. Left with 10 leg bites and didn't even sit down on the grassy hill . Fleas are not your friend.

Great place to start your evening, over looking town lake , the sunset and bats. When they leave, wow it's truly amazing, to see so many at one place......

It's hard to gauge the exact time the bats will emerge from under the bridge . However, when they do, it's quite a sight. Try to arrive 30mins before sunset . Austinites should see this at least once!

The bats fly leave the bridge flying east. Best place (other then on boat) is the South East side of the river down on the grassy area by the bike path

The bridge offers bat watching views in august(best) when young pups+mothers exit the bridge during nightly flights. Exit time around 8 to 8:30 pm as long as 30-45 mins. Exit times-Call 416-5700 x3636

If you are lucky and you are around this area before sunset , you can see bats flying from under the bridge to some area in the southeast of Austin.

Driving across the Congress Avenue Bridge , you'd never know the world's largest urban bat colony (1.5 million at summer peak) lives under it ... unless you show up at sundown to see them.

Have plenty of charge on your phone if you want to take video!

Park at the Austin American Statesman and follow the gravel path down to the hill near the river !

Always consider the background when composing images. If there's something in your view that you don't want in the final photo, you can change your physical position or try changing the focal length.

Either Burt Reynolds is in town , or thousands of bats are about to tear out from underneath this bridge . Either way, there are a ton of people on this bridge . Look for the vendor selling guano bowls.

A great place to watch the sun set, while waiting for the bats to take flight.

March kicks off bat season in Austin. March-April thousands of mostly female, pregnant Mexican free-tailed bats migrate North to give birth & they stay through the spring, summer, & early fall.

Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. More than 1.5 million bats fly out near dusk from the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge . Best viewing dates: April-Oct.

Watch for the largest urban bat colony ( they are Mexican Free-tailed bats) emerge from under the bridge as night falls. It's an incredible sight to see!

When on the bridge , get as close as you can over the water for the best view

Great for bat watching and even better trails ! Just try not to "take the scenic route" like I did...

About a million bats arrive in Austin in Spring and stay until Fall. See them from near the Congress area bridge or take a bat boat tour .

Had good luck in the south east side of the bridge . Find a street lamp to stand under to help illuminate the creepy flying mice.

I cannot think of a better name for this bridge that is home to hundreds of bats !! Ann Richards was one of the biggest old bats I've ever known!!!!

Because of the near blindness that afflicts the species, bats rely on sonar or echolocation to detect objects around them. If it's raining, they can't hear & won't come out to feed.

Beware of the man in the bat hat. He is soliciting buttons and will harass you if you don't buy one.

Crowdy bridge with many attractions around it

Just before dusk, head here to join thousands of others to watch the massive swarm of Mexican free-tail bats emerge from their roosts to feed on the night’s mosquitoes. Read more

1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats depart nightly at sunset , April through October, from beneath the bridge .

if the bats don't come out right after dusk - don't wait around as you can't see them after dark

Hang out here waiting for bats. It'll probably be real dark when they come out buts it's a cool 15 minutes.

The world's largest urban bat colony lives under this bridge ! Be sure to get there before sunset .

Great place to look down on the Colorado river .

Watched the bats during a lightning storm at sunset . Absolutely incredible

Get there 30 min before dusk. Super cool to see!

Get there early to get the best spot on the bridge

SPOOKY!! ...best loc is to stand on the congress ave bridge (right hand side facing the downtown)

Beware of the deaf guy passing out buttons, he expects your money. I politely told him I didn't want one, he flipped me off and motioned for me to leave. Amusingly, he avoided our side of the bridge .

Photos do not do this justice. You need to see it with your own eyes.

Originally built in 1875 for $80,000, it's now home to an estimated 1.5 million Mexican Free-tailed bats underneath. Showtime is daily at dusk.

On the right side of the bridge (facing north) is good.... seeing from a boat even better! Read more

Did you know the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world's largest urban bat colony? You're in a WiMAX hotspot, so hop online and learn more!

Everyone is excited for the bats to come out!!!

My 2nd time waiting on the bats! :)

Absolutely worth seeing this phenomena!! Nature at it's finest.

They do not come out every night.. So it's a gamble .. Don't go too early... They usually come out when the sun goes down...

Watch the bats take off at desk -- largest in the world. Be sure to wear a hat!

Arrive early to find a spot on the grass, because the bats draw quite a crowd most nights. Powered by ParentsConnect.com

The bats are pretty awesome.