Beaumont CVB Official Blog

The Beaumont CVB is proud to count the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation as not only our neighbors in Orange, but as generous community partners with a passion for nature conservation and a mission to educate their visitors.

As a treat to those participating in the Great Texas Birding Classic, the Stark Foundation has invited the birders to experience a private complimentary tour of Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center on April 17, 2011 before it is opened to the public that day. The state-of-the-art bird blind at Shangri La allows visitors an up-close look at the birds nesting within Shangri La's Ruby Lake. The lake is approximately 15 acres and provides a home to more than 17 species of birds. During the spring and summer, these birds nest and provide a home for more than 5,000 birds annually. Birders will find Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Anhingas, Cormorants, and many other types of birds.

The Stark Foundation will also open the usually closed Stark Museum of Art for an additional Sunday tour. The museum has an extraordinary collection of art by John James Audubon. On view will be one volume from Audubon's personal set of The Birds of America, along with individual prints and an Audubon watercolor. In addition, the complete porcelain American Bird Series by artist Dorothy Doughty will be exhibited. Doughty's birds are porcelain sculptures that portray the birds dramatically posed with in settings of plants and flowers.

The Great Texas Birding Classic is a friendly, but serious birding for conservation tournament. It is held each year in April to coincide with the spectacular spring bird migration in Texas. During the tournament, teams vie to see who can spot and record the most bird species in a given time period. Currently, 633 species of birds have been documented in Texas with over 400 of those species being seen during the spring migration.