The landscape west of San Antonio holds more surprises than most Texans realize. On a camping trip with friends to Kickapoo Cavern State Park — a rugged stretch of Edwards Plateau country in Kinney County — we discovered a place where the underground world is every bit as dramatic as the scenery above it. The park sits on a karst landscape shaped by millions of years of water carving through ancient limestone, resulting in 20 known caves. The one that made the deepest impression on us was Stuart Bat Cave.
Stuart Bat Cave, at 1,068 feet (326 meters) long, punches well above its weight. The cave is a spring-and-summer home to a colony of roughly one million Mexican free-tailed bats. From mid-March through October, every evening at dusk, they pour out of the cave in a living stream — a display that has drawn wildlife enthusiasts to Kinney County for decades. The park offers a ranger-guided tour that allows visitors to sit near the cave entrance and watch the emergence up close.
We were there on a warm May evening, and the sight was unlike anything I had witnessed before: an uncountable number of bats spiraling into a pink and purple sky, wings beating, filling the air with a sound you feel as much as hear.
The bats were not alone in the performance. Hawks had gathered at the edges of the clearing, patiently waiting for their turn. Mexican free-tailed bats weigh less than half an ounce (about 12 grams), but they are formidable hunters. Each bat can consume up to three-quarters of its body weight in insects in a single night. A colony of one million of them is capable of eating up to ten tons of insects nightly — a scale of natural pest control that benefits farmland across the region. For the hawks, the emerging bats represent an easy, abundant meal, and so you end up witnessing two spectacles at once: bats chasing insects in the darkening sky, and raptors patiently picking off bats.
Beyond the caves, Kickapoo Cavern State Park offers hiking, mountain biking, and exceptional bird watching — the Edwards Plateau supports a wide variety of resident and migratory species. But the image that stays with me from that trip is a simple one: sitting outside on a May evening, watching the sun drop behind the hills in a blaze of orange and red, just minutes before a million bats began their nightly flight out of the earth and into the Texas sky.
That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in other posts featuring Kickapoo Cavern SP, Landscapes, Parks, Stuart Bat Cave, and Texas. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
Posted for Pepper’s One Step at a Time # 15.
Sources:
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Stuart Bat Cave — https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/stuart-bat-cave.phtml
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Kickapoo Cavern State Park — https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/kickapoo-cavern
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Kickapoo Cavern Cave Tours — https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/kickapoo-cavern/fees-facilities/cave-tours
- World of Caves, Ultimate Guide to Kickapoo Cavern State Park — https://worldofcaves.com/ultimate-guide-to-kickapoo-cavern-state-park-texas-tours-pricing-history-map-2/
- Texas Speleological Survey, Stuart Bat Cave Tours — https://texasspeleologicalsurvey.org/wildcaves/tssstuartbatcave.php
- TPW Magazine, The Underground World of Kickapoo Cavern (October 2023) — https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2023/oct/scout15_wonders/index.phtml
- ShowCaves.com, Kickapoo Cavern State Park — https://www.showcaves.com/english/usa/caves/Kickapoo.html
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SoyBend
Great photo of the bats in flight, Egidio!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Siobhan.
restlessjo
The awesomeness of nature! An amazing thing to witness, Egidio xx
Egidio Leitao
I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks, Jo. xx
sue.1957@yahoo.com
Beautiful photos, but kinda creepy. My husband almost died from an exposure to a systemic fungal infection, from bat dung spores. He for sure stays away from them! Be safe out there.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you so much, Sue.
One Step at a Time #16 - Heavens Sunshine
Pingback: […] Frank shared a newly opened path from Fort Mill, South Carolina.Terri captured some wonderful wild things.Kirstin joined in for the first time with beautiful captures of things in the wild.Linda photographed the cutest goslings ever. Sue brought out the curiosity and cuteness of orangutans. Teresa has been wandering again and it was to DauinEgidio is back with some fantastic photos of bat caves. […]
Anita
A stunning post, Egidio. From the fiery sunset to the bat spectacle. It must have been amazing to witness in person.
Egidio Leitao
It is always fascinating to see bats emerging from a cave. Thanks for the feedback.
Wandering Dawgs
Egidio, the image of the bats at dusk is stunning. What an exciting event to witness.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Beth. I enjoy seeing them emerge, but I’m always a little uneasy with them flying near. I trust their radar.
Steve Schwartzman
Your pictures make clear how abstractly sculptural those stone curtains and other geological formations are—definitely worth seeing along with the bats.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Steve. Those types of abstracts often catch my eye.
sandyjwhite
That sunset is enchanting!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Sandy. I’m glad you liked it.
Rebecca Cuningham
The stone curtain formation is fabulous. Did you have additional light on site? The bats in Texas are so beautiful.
Egidio Leitao
I carried a small flashlight to aid in some of the shots. There was no lighting inside. We all had a head light and hand flashlights. Thanks for the comments, Rebecca.
Rebecca Cuningham
Great idea to carry the flashlight!
Lindy Le Coq
What a beautiful post, Egídio. That sunset is stunning, the cave interior fascinating, and the story compelling. Thank you!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Lindy, for your kind words.
rootedhabitat
One million bats, and hawks waiting for the picking! Wow. Thanks to your photos and narrative I have an image in my mind and will not forget it. Amazing!
Egidio Leitao
I’m glad you enjoyed the post and photos. Thanks for commenting.
Toonsarah
Ooh, I would love to experience this! I always like to see bats flying at twilight, but to see so many at once must be incredible 😀 And the sunset just adds to the spectacle!
Egidio Leitao
The cave emergence is truly a beautiful spectacle. At first, there are only a few bats, and then their number increases fast. The cave is undeveloped but the tour is comfortable with just some minor boulder sections. Thanks for commenting.
Bob Ramsak
The Wings at Dusk shot is exquisite. What excellent light! The ‘curtains, are interesting too. How much time did you spend in the cave and how deep did you go?
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for writing, Bob. This was a guided tour. We spent about two hours inside the cave. The cave is undeveloped, but the tour only takes us about a quarter of a mile down through a gradual descent and some boulder climbing.
Pepper
Egidio, I am finding out more about Texas through your posts than I learned in over 20 years of living there. Thanks for this informative post and the gorgeous photos.
Egidio Leitao
That’s a wonderful feedback. Thanks for letting me know.
margaret21
What a spectacle! Thanks for sharing these spectacular images. If I were a raptor though, I’d thk twice before picking off bat. What a bag of bones.
Egidio Leitao
Watching these bats emerge from the cave is fascinating. The sheer number of bats can be staggering. Thanks for writing.
solaner
In summer, we sometimes see a few bats flying around in our garden. And a couple of years ago, I was attending a bat excursion run by a nature protection organization with our kids. It’s really fascinating to see them.
It was way easier to watch the flying foxes on The Seychellen Islands as they are day active.
Great images, especially the one showing the enormous number of animals flying above the trees. I love it👍👍👍👍👍
Egidio Leitao
I’m glad you liked these, André. Thanks for writing.
solaner
You’re welcome 😊
bushboy
A very cool cave. The emerging bats at dusk must be a wonderful sight
Egidio Leitao
It was literally a cool cave. The inside temperature runs around 16-20ºC. The bats are really a sight to see. We have several locations around town, including the Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin. It has the largest urban bat colony with around 1.5 million bats. Thanks for the comment.
Leanne Cole
Bats I can handle, we have fruit bats here, but caves, no thank you. Gives me the creeps just thinking about them. Great images from the trip Egidio.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback. Most of the caves in Central Texas are pretty wide and comfortable. They are called “developed” caves with some lighting and designated trails.
Vicki
Sounds like an incredible sight, Egidio. I’ve been inside caves before, but never seen a formation like your stone curtain.
Thanks for sharing.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the comment, Vicki. This was a very interesting cave.