The only other times that I've seen bats up close is at the OKC Zoo twice. Never in my life have I seen any of them in the wild until last night.

I was visiting a friend last night and after 4am, I was on my way home. At the intersection of 15th and Sooner Road in Del City, I saw a huge swarm of bats flying from one tree to another. I rolled my window down and watched them fly. It was amazing!

I do not know where these bats came from, because I can not think of any caves nearby, so it was interesting to think that at least they are traveling vast distances. I'm sure these are harmless, because they are small in size (maybe wingspan 6-8"), and eat moths and bugs.

Some quick finds on bats in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Bats (http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/publications/bats.htm)
Oklahoma bats...Coming Out of the Dark (http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/okbats/)
Bats in Oklahoma (http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/oklahoma/bats.html)
Oklahoma Bat Facts (http://www.wildcareoklahoma.org/education2.html)

I'm not sure the exact breed of the bats I've seen, but as I've said, they seem to be the ones that eat moths and bugs, since they were going from tree to tree. They definately did not look like birds.

Maybe they've taken residency in the apartment complexes the city of Del City has shut down?

Where I'm at here in michigan, I see bats on a regular basis... nearly every night you can see them flying overhead. No caves in the area either.

Where I grew up there were always bats around the streetlights during summer evenings. My wife had never even seen a bat until we went to Myrtle Beach last year on vacation. A bunch of bats were flying around, eating bugs around the spotlights on the hotel roof. She swore they were birds until one swooped a little closer and she could clearly see it's leathery wings. They are interesting animals to observe.

The largest urban colony of Mexican Freetail Bats live here in Austin under the Congress Street Bridge, it is a popular attraction to stand on the bridge and watch them fly out at night from underneath you. There are also many caves in the area, on clear nights they will show up on the weather radar when leaving the caves.

...clearly see it's leathery wings...

/heebie jeebies