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Carlsbad Caverns Bat Flight Program
Category: Local Flavor [Edit]
Bat Flight Amphitheater727 Carlsbad Cavern Hwy
Carlsbad, NM 88220
(505) 785-3012
2 reviews for Carlsbad Caverns Bat Flight Program
If you are around when the bats are do not miss this sight!
We drove into the park right at the 6 p.m. Bat Flight timing of the day. From the parking lot we could see a ribbon winding it's way out of a small dip in the canyon. Aack! We were too late! We missed it!
But no... the stream of bats kept coming so we quickly made our way down the path and to the Natural Entrance of Carlsbad Caverns and down into the lovely Bat Amphitheater. The sight was amazing! The gaping hole of the cavern was swirling (literally) with bats. The bats would shoot out of the darkness (well, like bats outta hell) and swirl around and then take off into the sky in a long, undulating ribbon. This ribbon kept moving and changing and if it was close enough to you, you could actually hear the strange sound of thousands of bats in flight. A weird flapping, quiet swooshing.
Apparently, October is when the bats migrate to Mexico and so there were many to be seen - the estimate was 500,000 though we swore it more more in the millions. The stream of bats kept coming and coming as the sky slipped into darkness. According to the ranger the nightly flight out of the cavern lasts a couple hours... so as long as you make it before nightfall you're sure to see some of the action!
Oh yes, no photography is allowed near the Amphitheater... though you can from the upper parking lot.
A true wonder of nature... just in time for Halloween. Boo!
The bats are smaller than I anticipated and I thought a few of them were going to land on people in the audience! Totally worth seeing and a cool experience! The ranger gave a talk beforehand, which I thought was interesting. It was quite a sight to see the bats circling their way out of the cave.