Blowing Wind Cave Wildlife Refuge, in Jackson Co., AL

Each fall, the Tennessee Valley Audubon Society meets east of Huntsville at the Four Macs Restaurant on Highway 72E for the evening meal. Then everyone heads out to Blowing Wind Cave to view the exodus of bats as the sun goes down. During the summer, they are at the peak of their numbers and are estimated at between 200,000 and 600,000! This is the largest concentration of bats in the eastern U.S. In the off-season, the cave serves more as a haven for "batchelor bats", and other non-breeders.

The cave is a wildlife refuge, so we can't go in it. Remember to bring a hat! Invisible in these photos are the bars across the cave entrance; maybe 20 feet in. Bats can fly to and fro freely, but anything bigger than a cat can't get in.

Directions:

From Huntsville, go east on highway 72 East. After passing mile marker 131, take the next small road off to the right. It's paved, but has a gate across it about 40 yards from the highway. Park here, and walk in the rest of the way. It's only a few hundred yards in and on the right.