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Happy Halloween!

It’s Bat Month, Bat Week, Dia de los Muertos, and Halloween! Or, as we call it around here, Everyday Life at the refuge.

So what IS new at ABR?

Well, the flight cage is finally getting some color, from the boneset and the giant mistflower, both of which just now bloomed for the first time this “summer”. Normally we see blooms from these plants in July, but Winter Storm Uri set everything back many months this year.

The late blooms of native wildflowers such as these attracted fewer moths for rehabilitating bats to practice hunting this summer.
So we started growing our own moths!
Here’s a YouTube video of an eastern red bat capturing one of our first home-grown wax worm moths. Skip the add to watch the spectacular acrobatics!
Then please return to this email,

Winter Storm Uri caused problems for local bees too. Honey production was only 1/6th of normal this year because of the late blooms.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT:
Bats protect the honey crop by hunting the native wax worm moths that lay eggs in production bee hives! We discovered this new-to-us bat fact when we were told to feed our growing wax worms an old honeycomb.

A local bee keeper, John Swan of Wicked Bees, was pleased to be able to bring us an abandoned bee box that wax worm moths had used for a nursery (their larvae feed on the impurities in old honeycombs). We hung it up in the flight cage and now we have a moth factory right up where we need it, to feed the growing and rehabilitating bats! See the cocoons of the larvae packed up top in the second photo. Thanks, John!

Winter is Coming, Again

So it’s time to plant Winter Greens. Collard greens, kale, broccoli, and cauliflower (all in the brassica family) are wildly attractive to crop pests (such as cutworm moths), who smell these plants from far away and wiggle through the netting to lay their eggs on their succulent leaves. Here’s Kyndal (in our new black festival crop-top) preparing to plant the curly kale. We want to attract the crop pests, but we’ll make sure they don’t pester the crop-tops! Your new ABR shirt awaits indoors, in a sealed bin. :)

Other preparations for winter are coming along, too. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to our new generator! You all (and especially Barb and Mike Mikulski) really stepped up with your generous response to that urgent need. We now are better prepared for the next winter storm with this dual-fuel beauty, here hooked up to a propane tank. THANK YOU!

Bats are Staging for Migration

Speaking of winter, bats are moving about these days, in preparation for fall migration. We saw around 1.8 milllion free-tails leave Old Tunnel and head toward Bracken on the latest cold front on Oct 27th (see our Radar Page and click that night’s video, then please come back to this email). Bats will be found in strange places now and then as the pups of the year learn the ins and outs of migration. As usual, if you see a bat in trouble, please call us at Austin Bat Refuge—we’re always here to care for the bats that need us.

Exciting news for Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend is often kind of drab after the Thursday feastivities. Starting this year, there is a new film festival to spare us from fighting for a place in line at the big box stores.
The Animalis Fabula Film Festival takes place from Friday Nov. 26th through Sunday Nov. 28th at Mueller Ampitheater. We’ll be on stage after our episode on That Animal Rescue Show airs, for a Q&A with the audience, as will our colleagues and friends with other local animal rescue groups. There’ll be great animal-themed films from all over the world to watch throughout the weekend, followed by Q&As with the film makers.
We’ll have a booth at Mueller all weekend too, so please stop by and say hi!

Giving Tuesday

This year Giving Tuesday is on November 30. We have a $2000 match from our generous supporters at Tito’s Vodka, so if you’re able to give this year, the first $2000 in donations will be doubled.
Please help spread the word by following us and sharing on social media!

Christmas is right around the corner.

Now that fall has finally fallen it is, of course, already time to start thinking about Christmas. We can save you the rush at the mall for at least a few people on your list. We’re well-stocked with a whole lot of new shirt colors so you are sure to find something that fits your (or your friend’s) style. When you give an Austin Bat Refuge shirt, you once again help spread the message about saving bats, and your purchase is critical in providing life-giving care for the bats at the refuge.