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You likely already know that Austin Bat Refuge rehabilitates injured and orphaned bats so they can return to the wild. However, we do a lot more than rehab!

We also provide conflict resolution services. If bats are found roosting in a home’s attic, under siding, in outside shutters, or in other areas, we can help people consider their options, which can vary greatly. Sometimes, roosting bats that do not intrude into interiors where humans live or work can be tolerated—even welcomed—in out-of-the-way areas where there is little risk of conflict. In circumstances where bats must go, we can suggest solutions that range from advice and instruction about best practices, to recommendations of exclusion professionals. Sometimes we perform an exclusion ourselves.

We consult with businesses, agencies, and individuals to ensure that humans and bats can share our city in a way that is beneficial to us all. Last year, we responded to over 80 separate conflict resolution inquiries, ranging from a few bats to two colonies of a million plus individuals. Some were resolved by email or by phone, some were hands-on projects, while others are ongoing consultations requiring many hours of research and multiple site visits.

The third component of our mission is providing educational services. You may have seen us at one of our many bat talks, including a livestream (our favorite this year was International Bat Night in July), docenting at the Congress Avenue Bridge in between variant surges, or tabeling at an event around Central Texas, such as Animalis Fabula. If you do see us, be sure to stop by and say hi!

We love when we have the chance to support education in other ways. For instance, we sometimes host scientists (such as the Barber Lab at Boise State and the Corcoran Lab at Colorado State) at our bat care facility so they can observe bats up close. We love when we can help grow the breadth of human knowledge—especially because we are always eager to learn more about bats ourselves! We have learned a lot about filming in infrared at high frame rates (super slow-motion) from them, and we can’t wait to share the footage with you someday. Of course, we are always careful to only engage in endeavors that will not cause harm or stress to the bats under our care. Many times it turns out to be wonderful enrichment for the bats, when unusual prey is introduced or unique roosts are developed and explored.

Perhaps our favorite way to promote bat education is through film. What can we say? We think our bats were made to be movie stars!

We love it when our charismatic little sky puppies get to be featured in documentaries, TV series, and even on social media accounts. Our tiny celebrities have been featured on That Animal Rescue Show, BuzzFeed videos, and will soon show up in an episode of Evolve airing on Curiosity Stream.

Your next opportunity to catch us in the spotlight will be when we participate in a short spot to be shown on I Live Here I Give Here’s livestream for Amplify Austin Day and for distribution on Austin’s public access TV channels. Be sure to tune in when we kick off Amplify Austin with our own livestream from Austin Public’s Mission Control, on the evening of March 2nd. Details and links to come in our next newsletter.

You can still see some of our previous Austin Public appearances and meet some of our stars online. View our 2019 livestream and 2020 livestream.

Working with Austin Public is always a blast. They are very accommodating of our bats, even generously hosting our bats in their pup tents in their own offices. Still, we’re hoping this is the year our bats get their own changing room with a star on the door.

All the work that Austin Bat Refuge accomplishes every year is fueled by the passion of two incredible individuals: co-founders Dianne and Lee. We wanted to take a moment to give a belated birthday shout-out to Lee! Thanks to the hours you spend giving meticulous care to these fragile creatures in their hours of need, thousands of bats got their second chance at flying free.

Help Austin Bat Refuge during Amplify Austin!

Amplify Austin is the biggest day of giving in Central Texas. It’s March 2-3, but early giving is happening right now! Austin Bat Refuge is a small operation, which means every single dollar we receive from our supporters makes a huge difference for our bats. We are honored to have so many members of our community who make our work possible—last year, we were the 7th out of over 300 small nonprofits in number of individual donors during Amplify Austin.

Last year, the support we received from Amplify arrived in the nick of time, just days after the historic snowstorm, Winter Storm Uri, hit Texas. When we took in thousands of cold-stunned bats, your generosity ensured we were able to buy all the food, pup tents, medicine, and other supplies we needed to meet the sudden influx. While, of course, we hope there will not be another snowstorm this year, one thing we have learned in over a decade of wildlife rehabilitation is that you never know what will happen. Your donations make it possible for us to be prepared for any emergency.

There are two ways you can make a difference for bats during Amplify Austin:

1: Fundraise for Austin Bat Refuge

You can help us by becoming an individual fundraiser for Amplify Austin. To do so, go to our Amplify page and click the Fundraise button.

Your personal fundraiser site will use lots of our images and videos and show where the money will be spent, so you won’t have to create anything (videos of the bats you saved, for instance) unless you want to. We’ll periodically share some links to cute videos that you can share to your social media platforms as well. There are other useful graphics and tips here.

2: Donate to Austin Bat Refuge

Your donation will be matched once again this year, up to $3,000 by those big-hearted supporters of Austin’s animals, both wild and domestic, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

Bat blessings to you and yours,

Co-founders of Austin Bat Refuge