The Phoenix Bat Cave!

Mexican free-tail bats emerging at sunset from the Phoenix Bat Cave.
Photo c. 2011 Jeff Stemshorn

This is an amazing sight to see!  Every evening at sunset thousands of Mexican free-tail bats emerge from the "Phoenix Bat Cave" near the Biltmore to forage on mosquitos.  There are so many bats, that its nearly a steady stream lasting for a good 20 minutes. The Phoenix Bat Cave is really a 7 mile long underground tunnel which is part of a Maricopa County Flood Control ditch. 

Photo c. 2011 Jeff Stemshorn

Once a month during the summer, Arizona Game and Fish holds a bat workshop at the southwest corner of 24th Street and Biltmore Circle, just south of Lincoln. The next one is Aug. 5th from 7:00pm-9:00pm This one night workshop offers an opportunity to learn more about one of Phoenix’s largest urban bat roosts and the bats that live there.  Participants will be able to view and ask questions about a variety of native animals active at night including: owls, herons, rodents, rattlesnakes, small mammals, and bats.

If you go, park at at the commercial building located at 2400 W. Arizona Biltmore Circle. The building is on the NORTHEAST corner of 24th Street and Arizona Biltmore Circle, just south of Lincoln Dr. The viewing area is on the SOUTHWEST corner of that intersection, south of the Squaw Peak Police Precinct.  For wheelchair users, take the sidewalk south, then 4-wheel it through the gravel to the asphalt path which leads to the viewing area.

For more information about bats, visit the

Bat Conservation and Management website:

http://www.batcon.com/



My friend Greg Joder, currently working on the SW Willow Flycatcher Project, recently took part in an evening of capturing, studying, then releasing bats with a team of biologists from the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Program (LCR MSCP) bat monitoring project. 

Click on the image below to see the video.

Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus). Copyright: g. joder 2011