Arizona Oddities

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Your Guides
  • Departments
    • Art
    • Dose of History
    • Culture
    • Natural Surroundings
    • Odd Observations
    • Weather Talk
    • Food & Dining
    • Small Town Scene
    • Recreation
    • Only in Arizona
  • Get the Books
  • Contact Us

logo

Arizona Oddities

  • Home
  • Your Guides
  • Departments
    • Art
    • Dose of History
    • Culture
    • Natural Surroundings
    • Odd Observations
    • Weather Talk
    • Food & Dining
    • Small Town Scene
    • Recreation
    • Only in Arizona
  • Get the Books
  • Contact Us
Natural SurroundingsValley of the Sun
Home›Natural Surroundings›Thousands of Mexican Free-Tail Bats Make Phoenix Tunnel Their Summer Home

Thousands of Mexican Free-Tail Bats Make Phoenix Tunnel Their Summer Home

By Taylor Haynes
July 17, 2020
3686
0
thousands of Mexican free tail bats make Phoenix tunnel their summer home

Photo: USFWS/Ann Froschauer

Between May and October, dusk in Arizona brings relief as the relentless sun dips behind the mountains. Near the corner of 40th Street and Camelback Road, it also brings bats – more specifically, 10,000 to 20,000 Mexican free-tail bats. With a chorus of chirping and squeaking, they flap their leathery wings, making frenzied loops and zig-zags in the desert air. It’s brunchtime for these winged mammals and while there aren’t any mimosas, there is an abundance of scrumptious flying insects to devour.

Who knew an unassuming storm drain could become the Valley’s best and batty hotspot? While it’s not the Bat Cave à la Bruce Wayne, it’s nonetheless incredible. Mexican free-tail bats are known for gathering in huge numbers. Some flocks have been recorded in the millions and large enough to see on radar. They’re also able to reach flying speeds of up to 100 mph. During the summer months, Phoenix is a pitstop on the Mexican free-tail bat’s journey to Mexico. Apparently, it’s also the prime spot (cue Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On”) for bats to fall in love and make little bat babies.

Arizona has nearly 30 species of bat. One of them, called the canyon bat, is the smallest in North America, weighing about the same as a Hershey’s Kiss. Its flight is said to resemble a butterfly’s. Unfortunately, bats are widely misunderstood and seen as dirty or dangerous, when in fact, they’re critical for many desert habitats and control insect populations.

During the day, this storm drain looks like any other seen throughout the Valley. At night, though, it comes alive with Arizona’s fastest, feistiest, insect-eating, baby-making bats.

(Visited 475 times, 1 visits today)

Related Posts:

  1. Why is Tucson a Few Degrees Cooler than Phoenix?
  2. Rusty Warren Starts Sexual Revolution in Phoenix Piano Bar
  3. Did You Know Lizards Can High-Tail It On 2 Legs?
  4. Are Horny Toads Disappearing from Phoenix?
  5. How the Phoenix Area Nabbed the “Valley of the Sun” Nickname
TagsMexican free tail batsphoenixUrban wildlife

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Arizona Oddities Archive

Most Popular Posts

  • How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home
  • How to Keep Javelinas Away from Your Yard
  • What’s With All the Backyard Concrete-Block Fences…
  • Did You Know it’s Against the Law to Grow…
  • Four Deserts, One State

This Week Past Years

2019

  • 5 Interesting Facts About Architect Mary Colter

2015

  • Arizona History Trivia 6: Can You Pass?

2014

  • Canaan in the Desert Offers Roadside Refuge
  • A Well-Traveled Dinosaur in Holbrook

2013

  • Did Camels Ever Roam Wild in Arizona?

2012

  • Quick and Easy Salsa Recipe
  • The Concrete Iron Man of Bisbee

2011

  • Picacho Peak is Destination for Avid Hikers, Civil War Buffs
  • Death of Old Arizona Gunslinger Inspires Well-Known Western Axiom

2010

  • Arizona History Trivia: Can You Pass?
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Hello world

    By Robert Pfeifer
    May 17, 2022
  • Find a Famous Writer and Explorer's Mountain Retreat in Greer

    Find a Famous Writer and Explorer’s Historic Mountain Retreat in Greer

    By Taylor Haynes
    July 31, 2020
  • How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home

    By Andrea Aker
    January 3, 2011
  • Javelina

    How to Keep Javelinas Away from Your Yard

    By Andrea Aker
    November 23, 2011
  • Phil Motta
    on
    August 27, 2021

    Why Does Downtown Phoenix Seem to Have Two Downtowns?

    I know this post ...
  • Carol
    on
    October 17, 2020

    The Tucson Artifacts are the Southwest’s Greatest Hoax

    lol ... these "clues" ...

Follow us

© Copyright 2009 – 2020 Aker Ink, LLC :: Arizona Oddities is published by Aker Ink.