Update:  A related topic came up on another thread, so I thought I'd bump this up.  According to this document, the Woodard Bay Bat Emergence is the largest in Washington State.  The document also brings up another interesting local issue, the future of Capitol Lake, which is the primary food source of the bats.  As an estuary, however, it would no longer support the colony at its current size (2,600 last count). An interesting trade off I've never considered. Anyway, it's bat watching time again...

Witness the nightly emergence of the 2,000 strong colony of bats roosting under the old dock at Woodard Bay. Do not expect a sky darkening swarm of bats now, it peaks in early July. But you might see one every one to five seconds with an occasional and exciting burst of 3 to 5 bats at once. They tend to fly along the water line a couple feet off the ground before taking off to their feeding site at Capitol Lake.

Getting there: From Olympia, go north on Plum Street, which becomes East Bay Drive, then Boston Harbor Road. Turn right on Woodard Bay Road (1 mile past Gull Harbor Mercantile), left on Libby, then an immediate right, back onto Woodard Bay. At the bottom of the hill on the left, is a small parking area for the site. Park at the trailhead, walk to the end of the road and proceed to the fenced-off old dock. The best seats are on the rocks to the left of the dock. If you don’t want to risk having a young bat smack you in the head, sit higher up the bank. The action begins about 20 minutes after sundown. Bring a flash light for the walk back.