Spectators watch from above and below the Anne Richards Congress Avenue Bridge recently as Austin's Mexican/Brazilian Freetail Bat population leave their roosts for the daily evening emergence. The bats are an intregal part of Austin culture. Go to statesman.com/multimedia for a closer look at one of America's most spectacular wildlife viewing events.
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Ralph Barrera / Austin American-Statesman
Spring is here and the Mexican Free-tail bats that live under the Ann Richards Congress Avenue bridge are back. Under a Waxing Gibbous almost full moon they start their nightly ritual taking to the skies at dusk in search of their nourishment in the sky.
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Ralph Barrera / Austin American-Statesman
People watch millions of the Mexican Freetail Bats emerge from the Congress Ave. bridge on Saturday, July 23, 2011. The Mexican Freetail Bats have been flying from the congress bridge for more than 20 years and is the largest bat colony in North America.
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Ricardo B. Brazziell / Austin American-Statesman
People watch millions of the Mexican Freetail Bats emerge from the Congress Ave. bridge on Saturday, July 23, 2011. The Mexican Freetail Bats have been flying from the congress bridge for more than 20 years and is the largest bat colony in North America.
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Ricardo B. Brazziell / Austin American-Statesman
A moving statue honors the 1.5 million bats that live under a bridge in Austin. The town shows great pride in the nightly flights that often draw thousands of spectators.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Vendors sell assorted goods to crowds that gather at the bridge on Congress Street in Austin.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Signs educate the public about the 1.5 million bats that live under a bridge in downtown Austin.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Crowds gather near the bridge on Congress Street in Austin, to watch the nightly bat flights.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Black blurs are bats flying into the night while about 1,000 spectators watch.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Tour boats await bats to fly from beneath the bridge on Congress Street in downtown Austin. Up to 1.5 million bats roost under the bridge.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
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