The Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visit Lake Charles have teamed up to host a "Birding Between Borders Media Tour" for nature journalists and outdoor enthusiasts from April 22-28.
Held during peak migration season with the opportunity to see upwards of 400 different species, Beaumont is home to three distinct habitats – wetlands, woods, and coastal with Lake Charles adding even more diversity. Birding Between Borders is designed to introduce casual nature enthusiasts, hardcore birders, and everyone in between to the wild world of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana outdoors.
"We're extremely excited about this new partnership," Christina Lokey, Marketing Director, says, "By birding in both states, participants will get the best of both worlds while appreciating the subtle nuances of the different states and habitats. It's a metaphor for life. The birds don't see borders; why should we?"
Ecologically found at the confluence of the Central and Mississippi Flyways, the region is rich with spring-fed sandy-bottomed streams, mixed pine-hardwood forests, coastal tallgrass prairie habitat, and saltwater marshes as you travel south towards the Gulf of Mexico. Exceptional birding can be found at 46 hotspots, all within an 80-mile driving radius, as our feathered friends make their very last landfall for the season.
The tour will start in Galveston, Texas, to coincide with the annual Featherfest conference. From there, attendees will move to the renowned Texas Ornithological Society (TOS) Sabine Woods, where onlookers can experience the diverse ecosystem of our area. With marsh surrounding the oak, hackberry, mulberry, and lantana, there's the opportunity to see everything from Golden-winged Warblers to White-tailed Kites and Indigo Buntings.
Sea Rim State Park will be the next stop, where visitors can see Long-billed Curlews, Ruddy Turnstones, Clapper Rails, and Blue Grosbeaks. Attendees will search for gulls, terns, pelicans, sandpipers, plovers, and other shorebirds along the sandy shore.
Then, birders will head to Cattail Marsh Wetlands, Beaumont's shining gem. A reclaimed wastewater treatment plant, the innovative process has drawn the attention of sustainability experts across the state. At the same time, the education center has been named the best free outdoor attraction in Texas. Common sightings are American and Fish Crows, Cinnamon Teal, King Rail, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Bald Eagles.
In Lake Charles, Louisiana, and surrounding areas, the group will visit Cameron Prairie, where Purple Gallinules and Least Bitterns are common. Then, onto Willow Island and Rockefeller Refuge for migrant warblers, vireos, thrushes, orioles, flycatchers, tanagers, and cuckoos.
The birding trip in Southwest Louisiana is along the Creole Nature Trail, commonly called one of America's "Last Great Wildernesses." Visitors will stop at the Peveto Woods Sanctuary, the first tract of habitat for migrant passerines as they come across the Gulf of Mexico. One last drive through Cameron Prairie will allow participants to soak up even more time in Louisiana's Outback.
"Lake Charles and Beaumont are just 45 minutes apart," says Anne Klenke, VP of Destination Development, "but have evolved completely differently. We are so blessed that the culture, people, and geography perfectly complement each other, and we value our relationship."
Rob Ripma of Sabrewing Nature Tours will lead the tour. Ripma has birded extensively around the world. He is currently President of the Amos Butler Audubon Society (ABAS) in Indianapolis, on the board of directors for Ohio's Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO). He serves as the Field Trip Coordinator for the largest birding festival in the United States, BSBO's Biggest Week in American Birding.
For more information, view beaumontcvb.com or call (409) 880-3749.