Did you know that 240 of the 596 native bird species in Texas call Beaumont home? It’s true, you can even spot a family of Bald Eagles!

For the second year, the Beaumont CVB participated in the 19^th Annual Great Texas Birding Classic by hosting a BIG SIT team on May 8, 2015 at Cattail Marsh. The Big Sit is a 12 hour competition where shifts of birders select a 17-foot diameter circle and team members count birds they either see or hear from within the designated spot. Our team of expert to beginner birders counted 62 species including a verified sighting of a rare American Wigeon!

This year’s birding circle was right at the entrance to Cattail Marsh so all visitors can be on the lookout for dozens of native birds only a few feet from their cars. Cattail Marsh is located inside Beaumont’s Tyrrell Park. This 900-acre scenic wetland is how the City of Beaumont cleans its water. A necessary utility, Cattail Marsh has created a haven for birds, alligators and plants. Birders, nature lovers and photographers travel from all over the U.S. to experience the outstanding assets found right here in Beaumont.

The Great Texas Birding Classic is a project of Texas Parks & Wildlife and is held annually April 15 – May 15 all across Texas. We invite you to “Geaux Explore” Beaumont’s Wild Side by visiting Cattail Marsh this summer, it offers free admission and open daily following Tyrell Park’s hours of operation. (Click here for the Cattail Marsh Trail Map) Please observe the rules and warnings posted at the Cattail Marsh entrance to insure a safe and enjoyable visit.

Beaumont's 2015 Big Sit Birding Results (62 Species total)

1. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
2. Fulvous Whistling-Duck
3. Gadwall
4. American Wigeon - one lone bird viewed by everyone and verified by Audobon members of team; grey head, green and white on wing
5. Mottled Duck
6. Blue-winged Teal
7. Neotropic Cormorant
8. American White Pelican
9. Least Bittern
10. Great Blue Heron
11. Great Egret
12. Snowy Egret
13. Little Blue Heron
14. Tricolored Heron
15. Cattle Egret
16. Green Heron
17. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
18. White Ibis
19. Glossy Ibis
20. White-faced Ibis
21. Roseate Spoonbill
22. Black Vulture
23. Turkey Vulture
24. Osprey
25. Swallow-tailed Kite
26. Bald Eagle
27. Red-shouldered Hawk
28. Swainson's Hawk
29. King Rail
30. Purple Gallinule
31. Common Gallinule
32. American Coot
33. Black-necked Stilt
34. Killdeer
35. Lesser Yellowlegs
36. Stilt Sandpiper
37. White-rumped Sandpiper
38. Long-billed Dowitcher
39. Wilson's Phalarope
40. Laughing Gull
41. Ring-billed Gull
42. Least Tern
43. Caspian Tern
44. Black Tern
45. Forster's Tern
46. Mourning Dove
47. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
48. Chimney Swift
49. Red-headed Woodpecker
50. Red-bellied Woodpecker
51. Eastern Kingbird
52. Fish Crow
53. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
54. Tree Swallow
55. Barn Swallow
56. Northern Mockingbird
57. European Starling
58. Northern Cardinal
59. Red-winged Blackbird
60. Common Grackle
61. Boat-tailed Grackle
62. Great-tailed Grackle