I think I found a bat colony in Houston...

[bohonk445]

On my way to and from work the past few weeks, (I work graveyard shift), I have noticed several winged creatures fluttering around underneath an overpass on the Tollway. On the west tollway, just past the I-10 big tollbooth, the first overpass you come up to (I believe it's Briarforest). There are big lights up underneath the tollway, and you can see tons of insects flying around. Then you see these winged creatures which I'm sure are bats. I don't know if they are living under that overpass but I have noticed a strange smell there. I thought it was from the bayou/water treatment plant nearby. I'm beginning to wonder if it's bat guano. It's a pretty dangerous spot to stop with your car - but I'd like to confirm whether or not they are bats. Anybody want to block traffic for me?

[Wendy]

Oooh, cool - a bat colony! Maybe several of us TPF members could get together and fake a wreck at the intersection while you get a few quick shots off to confirm their identity. :lol:

[suzyjazz]

You won't catch me there. I hate bats. They totally gross me out. This only started after bats invaded my parents garage and a couple even got inside the house. *heebie jeebies* Blaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[ndsimm]

dang it, now I got this song in my head...
Batman ...duh, nuh, nuh, nuh , nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh, Batman.....

[whiteyfoo]

There are a couple bat colonies living under the bridges on Memorial near downtown. Enough to gag you when I'm riding my bike down there (Bat guano is stinky).

[Wendy]

Can't be as bad as the Congress Ave bridge in Austin, though. Now that is some bat guano! :lol:

[Steelsun]

Originally Posted by whiteyfoo

There are a couple bat colonies living under the bridges on Memorial near downtown. Enough to gag you when I'm riding my bike down there (Bat guano is stinky).

Yep - Houston Press had a write up about them last year sometime.
There is some kind of group trying to get the area modified and make it into a watcher friendly area like Austin's. Also some people go there to "harvest" guano for their gardens.

ANother place to see bats is the early evening near St Paul's UMC (accross from the MFA). I often see bunches of them above the nearby three churches. Don't know where they roost though (but not in St Paul's belfry - I go up there regularly and it's bat proofed, well pigeon proofed).

[tjavery]

Cool. I've noticed that smell too. Fortunately, I don't work in that part of town anymore so I don't have to drive past it twice a day :-)

I've seen plenty of bats in our neighborhood (NW Houston - Copperfield). They're easy to spot against the light-polluted night sky. I'd love to get a powerful flash and try to "capture" a bat on the fly, but then there are some focussing issues with doing that.

Let us know if you find a decent observation point for the colony.

[Torqued]

Originally Posted by Wendy

Can't be as bad as the Congress Ave bridge in Austin, though. Now that is some bat guano! :lol:

You sure you're not smelling the breeze from the Capitol Building?

:lol:

[Steelsun]

Originally Posted by Torqued

You sure you're not smelling the breeze from the Capitol Building?

Naah, that's like the smell you get at a cattle drive or pig farm.

[bohonk445]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

Yep - Houston Press had a write up about them last year sometime.
There is some kind of group trying to get the area modified and make it into a watcher friendly area like Austin's. Also some people go there to "harvest" guano for their gardens.

ANother place to see bats is the early evening near St Paul's UMC (accross from the MFA). I often see bunches of them above the nearby three churches. Don't know where they roost though (but not in St Paul's belfry - I go up there regularly and it's bat proofed, well pigeon proofed).

I'm just curious... Why do you go up to the belfry regularly? And how does your back feel these days? :lol:

[Steelsun]

Originally Posted by bohonk445

I'm just curious... Why do you go up to the belfry regularly? And how does your back feel these days? :lol:

Believe it or not, it's for Bells!

http://Stpaulsbells.com

My wife is the Tower Captain. StPauls is one of only 5 churches in Texas that has change ringing bells, and it's actually a complex and mathematical art (which I refuse to start - bores the heck out of me).

3 churches now in Houston have them: St Thomas Episcopal (near Meyerland) has had them since the 70s I think, St Pauls got theirs about 4-5 years ago, and Palmer Episcopal (near Rice/MedCenter) got theres a few months ago.
St Pauls is the "Biggest Ring" (i.e. heaviest set of bells) in Houston (and I think west of the Mississippi).

The bells offer a great photo op, along with the fringe benefits: whenever the wife and her group does bell tours (like one in the UK 2 years ago), we get behind the scene access to churches, including some old historic ones. Last year I got to have special access to the Wash Nat'l Cathedral, very cool.

This years Annual Guild Meeting (the yearly meetup and class sessions for American bell ringers) is in Houston: http://Houstonagm.com .

Believe me, I've tortured the wife and all her twisted friends with quasimodo, bell, and belfry jokes for awhile now.