Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve

 View a slideshow 

Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from cave at sunset © Lynn Mc Bride

Why You Should Visit
The Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve is one of the largest bat nurseries in the country. About 4 million female bats inhabit the site from May through September. Most of these are pregnant when they arrive. In the Bat Cave, females give birth to a single pup in June or July. The young bats grow rapidly and are able to fly at about five weeks of age. However, they will remain with their mothers until they return to Mexico in October.

About an hour or two before sunset, hundreds of bats flutter and chirp around the mouth of the cave. Slowly, a stream of bats emerges and flies in a large circle, low to the ground, just outside the cave entrance. These bats gradually spiral upwards and form a dark funnel of flying mammals, reaching several hundred feet into the evening sky. The bats at the top of the spiral break off, forming columns that stream out over the countryside. This seemingly impossible torrent of bats forms a densely packed "bat tornado" for about an hour.

Location
The site is southwest of Mason, near State Highway 290, in Mason County.

Hours
Open mid-May to early October for interpretive tours Thursday-Sunday, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Some sunrise tours of the bats returning from their nocturnal hunts also are offered.

Size
8 acres

Conditions
The preserve is open to visitors each summer. There is a $5 entrance fee. Children 5 and under are free. 

How to Prepare for Your Visit
For more information, call Vicki Ritter at (325) 347-5970.      

Directions

(Important:  Please call ahead of time to obtain local weather conditions and updates concerning the James River. This river is affected by flash flooding.  Please note that the flood gauge normally reads 1 foot. Although higher clearance SUVs and pickup trucks are the preferred vehicles to cross the river, if the flood gauge is at 1 foot or below, most vehicles should be able to make the crossing. Use your own judgement based upon knowledge of your individual vehicle. Do not make the crossing if the flood gauge is above 1 foot or higher.)    

Download PDF map and directions or see the directions below

Start from the southeast side of Mason town square on Highway 87 South. It is about 16.5 miles to the preserve.

• Follow Highway 87 about 1 mile to FM 1723.  If you pass the city park on the left, you have gone too far. 
• Turn right on FM 1723. 
• Follow FM 1723 for about 2.4 miles to FM 2389.  
• Follow FM 2389 for about 4.8 miles to James River road.  You will cross two bridges over the Llano River just before you reach James River road.  
• Turn right on James River road.  It is about 8.3 miles to the preserve.  Watch for deer and cattle on this road.  The pavement will end about half way through and will then be driving on dirt road.
• Continue on the James River road to the James River crossing.  Before you reach the James River, you will pass the Dalton J. Woods paved turnoff to the right; do not turn, continue straight through this intersection.  
• Cross the James River.  The roadway actually fords the river. Drive slowly. When crossing the river, you will see small waterfalls to your right.  If you stay near those waterfalls (careful not to go to the right of them) the water level is constant all the way across the river and the river bottom is hard rock all the way across. Although it can be slick at times, it is crossable. Caution: This river is affected by flash flooding. 
• Continue along the James River road about a 1/2 mile until the road turns a sharp left; the gated entrance to the preserve is on the right at this curve. Follow the road to the parking lot.

Bat emergence     © Lynn Mc Bride

What to See: Animals
Millions of Mexican free-tailed bats can be seen here. Like all bat species, the free-tailed population at the Bat Cave is an integral part of regional ecology. For many years, however, bats were considered menacing creatures to be avoided or destroyed. Thanks to the work of biologists and groups like Bat Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, this groundless reputation is slowly being corrected.

Bats are finally gaining recognition for their important ecological roles. They are agents of seed dispersal and cross-pollination for many plant species. Bats also control insect populations. They scour thousands of acres of countryside each night searching for food. During these nightly excursions, each bat consumes close to its body weight in insects. Included in their diet are mosquitoes and numerous crop pests such as cutworm and corn borer moths.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
This unique preserve is home to one of the largest aggregations of warm-blooded animals in the world. Because these and other bat species roost in such large numbers, colonies could be destroyed by a single vandalous act. The free-tailed bat population has declined dramatically in some areas of the country. This decrease is largely attributed to the disturbance and destruction of roost sites by humans, usually leading either to total evacuation of the roost or complete decimation of the site's entire population. Because free-tailed bats give birth to only a single pup each year, a population's recovery rate is slow.

Richard Phillip Eckert and Virginia Eckert Garrett donated the cave to The Nature Conservancy in honor of their father, Lee Eckert, and grandfather, W. Phillip Eckert. The Eckert family acquired the property in 1907 when W. Phillip purchased the ranch on which the cave was located. In the early 1900s, W. Phillip mined the bat guano in the cave and sold it to local farmers for crop fertilizer. W. Phillip's son, Lee Eckert, continued his father's legacy of bat conservation and guano mining and left the site to his wife and children when he passed away in 1967.

This generation of Eckerts wanted to ensure permanent protection of the bats, so in 1990 they donated the cave to the Conservancy on condition that the land around the cave remain open to the public for enjoyment and education, as it had been for more than 100 years.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The management plan developed by Bat Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy prevents human entrance to the cave during maternal activity, controls visitation, monitors the bat population and protects the cave opening. Scientific research continues at the site and the cave remains open to scientists throughout most of the year.