Join us on August 26, 2026 to celebrate Merlin Tuttle Day and Merlin's 85th birthday in Austin, Texas!

Thanks to Merlin's life-long dedication, Austin has become a world leader in demonstrating that bats make invaluable and safe neighbors and the bats are now a staple of Austin's culture. Former Austin Mayor Steve Adler officially proclaimed Merlin's birthday, August 26th, as Merlin Tuttle Day in honor of Merlin's success in saving the city’s now world-famous bats. Let's celebrate!

Join us on Wednesday, August 26th to kick off the Merlin Tuttle Day week, and hope you will use the fun stories and photos to extend the celebration afterwards!

There is limited capacity to join Merlin aboard the Capital Cruises Pride & Joy II double-decker boat for food, drinks, story-telling and bat-watching. Merlin will tell stories and personally answer your bat questions.

Each in-person ticket grants:

Admission to the private cruise on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26th
Light bites and drinks (Beer, wine, and non-alcoholic provided. BYO is also welcome.)
One (1) entry into the raffle prize pool: The grand prize is a Merlin Tuttle 16x20 SIGNED AND MATTED PRINT of a spectacular bat emergence over Austin's skyline. In addition to this, we will have MTBC Merch, and much more!

MTBC MEMBERS will automatically receive an additional two (2) raffle tickets! Join MTBC in advance here: https://www.merlintuttle.org/become-a-member/

Whether you've seen them a hundred times or never before, these bats are spectacular! However, they are wild animals and their behavior is weather-dependent. There's always a chance for a less-than-perfect viewing experience, but we will enjoy spending time together no matter what!

All ticket sales and donations support bat conservation directly through 501c3 non-profit organization, Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation.

Bats are Austin's favorite neighbors - thanks to Merlin!

Learn more about Merlin's ongoing work at MerlinTuttle.org

Learn more about Austin's bats at AustinBats.org

ABOUT MERLIN TUTTLE

Dr. Merlin Tuttle is widely known as the godfather of modern bat conservation: an ecologist, wildlife photographer, and conservationist who has studied bats and championed their preservation for more than 60 years. He is globally known through his scientific discoveries, media appearances, popular articles, and photographs of bats. Thanks to Merlin's life-long and continued dedication, Austin is a world leader in demonstrating that bats make invaluable and safe neighbors -- bats are now a staple of Austin’s culture. His impact has been recognized by Mayor Steve Adler declaring Merlin’s birthday, August 26th, Merlin Tuttle Day.

Merlin founded Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation (MTBC) in 2014, where he is currently active. Merlin also founded and led Bat Conservation International (BCI) for nearly 30 years before leaving in 2009.

Through MTBC, Merlin continues to provide the world's finest bat photo gallery and the most up-to-date responses to exaggerated disease speculation about bats. This is also the only place to access his unique expertise and support his work. At age 84, he is still passionately teaching the world to understand and appreciate the vital roles of bats. Merlin’s work has been featured in expositions from Harvard University to the British Museum and in numerous feature articles that include the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and National Geographic. Since founding MTBC, he has continued his worldwide efforts from Brunei, Bulgaria, and Cambodia, to Taiwan, and Thailand, and from Brazil, Chile, and the Vatican, to South Africa and beyond.

His first book, America’s Neighborhood Bats, published in 1988, played a key role putting unfounded fear in perspective and in outlawing the then widespread poisoning of American bats living in buildings. His 2022 publication, The Bat House Guide, is the most comprehensive bat house book yet, designed locally by Pentagram. His inspiring autobiography, The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World’s Most Misunderstood Mammals, was published in 2018, with top reviews, including from The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and National Geographic. And in 2019, he served as science editor and sole photographer for the Smithsonian book, BATS: An illustrated guide to all species. He also serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin and still takes approximately a thousand new photos annually. Whether you like bats or not, we need them! To learn more and support his work visit MerlinTuttle.org.

*Photography & Recording: By attending our events, you’re giving us permission to capture photos, video, or audio and share them in event-related print, online, and social media. If you’d prefer not to be photographed or recorded, just let a member of our team know — we’re happy to help.

Contact the host of Merlin Tuttle Day 2026

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