Fall Migration Runs Through a Timbergrove Forest Most Neighbors Walk Past

"This land shall be preserved forever as a natural habitat." The line sits at the top of the Friends of The Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve website. For about two decades now, the 20 acres of woods off Shelterwood, Pineshade and Shirkmere have lived up to it. That didn't happen by default. The City of Houston owns the land, but the preserve's upkeep and its calendar are largely run by neighbors. Late October into early December is when that matters most. Migrating songbirds are moving through, and the best way into the forest is a free, volunteer-led walk.

The Woods Was Sold Twice Before It Was Saved

The land was once part of William C. Hogg's holdings. When his will was settled in 1939, it passed to the University of Texas. The university sold the 21-acre parcel to the Houston Independent School District in 1949. According to the preserve's published history, the district then floated plans to sell or build on it for the next 50 years. Each time, Timbergrove Manor neighbors who called the tract "The Woods" pushed back.

In 2005 the district decided to sell at auction, and developers lined up to bid. Friends of West 11th Street Park led a letter-writing campaign that persuaded the district to hold off. At the same time, the group asked the Houston Parks Board to negotiate a purchase for the city. The deal that followed went like this:

1. The Houston Parks Board negotiated a $9 million price. Mayor Bill White committed $4 million in public funds, with the private sector expected to raise the rest.
2. When the purchase option was about to expire in January 2007, there was still a $3.5 million shortfall. The Parks Board took out a $3.7 million bridge loan, using five acres on the southwest corner as collateral. That guaranteed the neighborhood at least a 15.2-acre park.
3. The City of Houston bought the land in February 2007, and the park was dedicated as West 11th Street Park on February 21, 2008.
4. A $3.75 million state matching grant, secured in fall 2007 with the help of State Senator John Whitmire, paid off the loan. The last five acres went to the city parks department in February 2009.

Dr. Lorraine Cherry was a Timbergrove Manor resident who held a Ph.D. in genetics and had taught at the University of Texas Health Science Center. She was a key figure in that campaign in the late 1990s and early 2000s and later chaired Friends of West 11th Street Park. On June 9, 2021, City Council voted to rename the park for her. On October 12, 2022, the city designated it one of Houston's first nature preserves, focused on habitat protection and passive recreation.

The City Owns It, and Neighbors Keep It Running

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department lists the preserve among its nature preserves. The day-to-day work, though, belongs to the Friends group. The Timbergrove Manor Civic Club's preserve page credits the Friends with keeping up the garden, the kiosk and the trail cover, and with sponsoring events.

You can see that work on a walk. A quarter-acre wildflower area is planted and maintained by volunteers, as is the butterfly garden. The Friends count 200 plant species, 44 butterfly species and 158 bird species on the property. In 2023, the Friends and the Greater Heights Area Chamber worked with the parks department to install a bird drip and a signed quiet-viewing area. The city connected the drip to an existing fountain line. A 2024 Friends guide describes a mix of open greenbelt and forest interior, including more than two acres of documented wetland.

The kiosk on Shelterwood shows how this works in practice. As The Leader reported, the kiosk had stood since 2007, until a sudden May 16 windstorm, during tornado warnings the spring before construction began, knocked a tree onto it. A Troop 88 scout took on the replacement as an Eagle Scout project. Ed Witt, a former Houston Ballet set designer, mentored the team, and the troop raised about $650 for materials. Building started in March 2025 and finished May 31, with a shingle roof replacing the old metal one. The Friends presented a commemorative plaque on August 3. The same troop had already done a "Hut Busting" day, taking down makeshift structures that were damaging the trees and shrubs they leaned on.

The Tuesday Walk Is Also a Bird Count

The person leading most fall mornings here has a dual role. The Leader identifies Laura Bradham as president of the Friends group. After the 2022 renaming, she brought the bird walks she had long led as a Houston Audubon volunteer to the preserve. In January 2022, Houston Audubon made the preserve an official Bird Survey location, a designation the Friends call a rare one for a public urban site. So a casual Tuesday walk here also feeds a running record of the city's bird populations.

That record is public. The preserve's eBird hotspot page lists 158 species. The species list includes an American Redstart logged at 8:01 a.m. on October 13, 2026. Eastern Wood-Pewee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Canada Warbler also appear. These are the migrants that Houston Audubon's overview of fall coastal landbird migration describes passing through this region: warblers, flycatchers, vireos, orioles and other landbirds. The year-round residents are a draw too. The Friends single out Red-headed and Pileated Woodpeckers and Great Horned Owls. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists the preserve as site UTC-093A on the Buffalo Bayou Loop of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. Its entry, still filed under the old West 11th Street Park name, notes six woodpecker species and the butterfly garden.

Six Weeks on the Volunteer Calendar

Houston Audubon's preserve page sets the main schedule. Morning walks run every Tuesday at 8 a.m. from September through May, led by Laura Bradham, with a winter break for Christmas Bird Counts. Evening walks start at 5:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month in September through November and February through May, led by Laura and Michael Bradham. The civic club's events calendar adds two Saturday mornings in the preserve.

That puts the fall's last evening walk one week after this post goes up. Winter walks are on hold after December 8. For Morning Mindfulness, the civic club suggests bringing a folding chair or ground mat, water, and bug spray if needed. For the yoga session, bring a mat and water. Both events show a Register link on the civic club's page. After the forest calendar ends, the civic club's Holiday Light Judging takes over the neighborhood streets on December 10 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Three Corners, Three Ways In

The meeting points in that table also explain how the preserve is laid out. The kiosk off Shelterwood is the information hub. The birding trail sign on Shirkmere is near the open greenbelt, and the ball field sits on the Woodbrook side. Inside, Houston Audubon describes about 1.75 miles of rustic, unpaved trail. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists 1.5 miles, and the Friends describe a half-mile crushed-granite loop within the larger network. The preserve has no restrooms. Houston Audubon asks walkers to bring binoculars if they have them and to wear comfortable shoes. Walks are canceled for thunder and lightning or temperatures below freezing.

The preserve also connects to the bayou trail system through its history. Lorraine Cherry served as a liaison on the design of the Bryce/West 11th gateway and trailhead for the White Oak Bayou Greenway. The Houston Parks Board describes that greenway as more than 18 miles of public greenspace and hike-and-bike trail within city limits. The Friends website invites anyone interested in workdays to email for details, and its donation page funds projects like the kiosk.

At Arriaga Realty, we love seeing neighbors look after the places that make Timbergrove what it is, and a 20-acre forest saved one letter at a time is a good example. If you're thinking about how your own home fits into this part of the Heights, we're happy to start that conversation. Schedule a Free Valuation & Consultation.