Join the Nightlife! 2024

Are you passionate about wildlife and conservation? Don't miss this incredible opportunity to learn about bats and their crucial role in our ecosystem. Join us for an enriching experience where you'll gain hands-on knowledge and expert insights into the lives of these magnificent creatures! Are you a biologist or industry professional looking to learn the ins and outs of acoustic recording, identification, and data management? Join us for our add-on Acoustic Course (details and full schedule below).

Exclusive Tour of Bracken Cave

Embark on an exclusive visit to Bracken Cave, home to the world's largest bat colony. Witness the breathtaking spectacle as thousands of bats take to the skies during their nightly emergence. This awe-inspiring sight is an experience you'll treasure forever.

Expert-guided Lectures and Field Trips

Immerse yourself in expert-guided lectures and hands-on field trips that cover various aspects of bat conservation. From building bat houses to mist-netting and acoustic recording, our comprehensive program offers something for everyone.

Engaging Evening Demonstrations

Experience the thrill of mist-netting and acoustic recording as you observe live bats in action! Our evening demonstrations will leave you in awe as you witness these incredible creatures up close in their natural habitat.

For biologists, industry professionals, and serious citizen scientists, our optional 2-day acoustic identification course is a must-attend! Led by the renowned Janet Tyburec, this course will teach you how to organize and classify recordings to species, interpret results, and contribute to NABat.

During this course, you'll master equipment selection, bat detector deployment techniques and settings configuration, data collection and organization, and results analysis. Identify Central Texas bats to species and learn about species-specific frequency and amplitude characteristics. In-class practicums and an optional field recording demonstration will empower you to conduct your own bat inventory and monitoring.

As a student of this course, you'll receive a free 30-day trial version of the powerful SonoBat software suite for data processing.

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Your journey with us comes with these incredible inclusions:

• Lunches and Dinners provided
• A free signed copy of Merlin's newest book, The Bat House Guide
• A 1 year of Leadership Membership in MTBC, including 20 free photo downloads, discounts on additional photo downloads and merchandise, and exclusive invitations to join Merlin for privately chartered bat-watching cruises at Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge
• Course credit from participating Master Naturalist programs

Accommodations & Travel (Not Included)

Make the most of your experience by staying at The Holiday Inn Convention Center, San Marcos, with a special group rate for Join the Nightlife attendees. Carpool arrangements from the hotel to the field site can be organized for your convenience. Don't wait to secure your spot!

Proof of recent rabies vaccination or acceptable titer is required for handling bats, but not required for attendance. For inquiries, email [email protected]

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Holiday Inn San Marcos Convention Ctr, 105 Bintu Dr, San Marcos, United States