A Bird in the Hand...
...sure is a lot of fun!
Back in February I made the hard choice not to attend my colored pencil group’s annual art retreat near Seattle. Negotiating airports and dealing with logistics felt like more than I could handle with my crummy knees, and I was heartbroken to miss having a madcap week making art and hanging with my friends.
A week or two later, I was still in the doldrums over this when I had an idea: Maybe we could still take a trip, get some time away, but without flying. We could take a driving trip somewhere nearby as sort of a consolation prize. Bisbee, Arizona seemed like a nice choice. An old mining town turned artsy enclave, Bisbee was only a few hours away by car, and with Tombstone nearby, this could turn into a nice touristy little trip: shopping, nice food, Old Westing, and some R & R at some cozy old hotel.
Weather-wise, early April would be a perfect time to go, and after a lot of online searching, I happened upon what seemed like a perfect place to stay: Casa de San Pedro, a bed & breakfast seemingly in the middle of nowhere, about a half-hour’s drive from Bisbee. Photos showed gorgeous grounds and rooms, and visitor reviews were exceptional, which I thought must explain the hard time I had trying to book rooms. Finding an opening involved a couple of phone calls to the owner to juggle dates, but eventually we were booked and our deposit paid.
During the process of making the reservations and exploring the nearby area online, I found out something totally unexpected: this area of Arizona is a flyway for migratory birds, particularly hummingbirds. Casa de San Pedro borders the San Pedro River, a area lusher than the cactus-clad environs of Phoenix — and unbeknownst to me when I made our reservations, our stay was during a peak birding month.
Birding? We like birds, sure, who doesn’t? Krysta keeps two bird baths in our backyard full of fresh, cool water for them (she’s a sweetheart like that), and we are both rather addicted to the Merlin Bird ID app on our phones. So yeah, we were up for seeing birds on vacation, but hiking all over the place on the off-chance of spotting some rare bird was not in the game plan, and also not possible with my knees. Still, staying in a birding hotspot seemed like a fascinating way to spend a few days, so we opened ourselves to a different kind of getaway than what we had originally planned.
And here’s where it got pretty magical: As it turned out, there was no hiking necessary. The birds (and the birders) came to us! The Casa grounds are a birding paradise. An untold number of bird feeders were tucked into the native vegetation around the Casa and the place was alive with feathered visitors. Literally five minutes after we arrived I spotted a small bright red bird (a vermilion flycatcher) that looked like it flew right out of a Disney movie. Vibrant hummingbirds I’d never seen before were buzzing around everywhere.
The day after our arrival we discovered the Casa’s pond, clearly a stopping spot for hundreds of birds and a source of such musical birdsong that I made a 10-minute recording of its residents to listen to whenever I need a relaxing “bird bath.” Pretty unique souvenir, right?
Even better: On Friday evenings during spring and fall, Sheri Williamson and Tom Wood of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO) conduct hummingbird banding right there at the Casa. Sheri literally wrote the book on hummingbirds: The Peterson Guide to Hummingbirds of North America, so participating in the banding with Sheri and Tom is a highly-prized opportunity for birders, and as guests at the Casa, we had front row seats!
How do you catch a hummingbird, you might ask? It’s not as tricky as you might think. A tent made of netting is placed around the top of a hummingbird feeder. When the hummingbird flies in for a drink of nectar, a volunteer activates a remote control that drops the bottom of the net, enclosing the feeder and trapping the bird. The volunteer reaches in, catches the hummingbird, and places it in a small net cage for transfer to the banding table.
At the table, Sheri very carefully and gently measures and weighs the hummingbirds, inspects them for parasites, and bands them. Birds which already have bands also go through measuring and inspection, and any differences in their condition provides important information about survival and living conditions of the species.
After the hummingbird is banded, it is given a drink of nectar, and placed into the open hands of a volunteer where it rests for a minute or two before flying off.
The banding event continued for a couple of hours that Friday evening, and so many hummers were captured and banded that everyone who volunteered got the opportunity to hold one of these tiny flying gems. One of the tiny flyers even got caught twice… crazy little bird!
Our vacation continued for a few days more, and we visited Bisbee and Tombstone as well (with really fun experiences and fascinating people met at those places), but mostly I’ll remember this trip for the hummingbird banding.
This few-day getaway turned into something very different than intended, and that took it from ordinary to magical. Instead of insisting our trip be something we’d expected it to be (shopping and dining and lounging), we opened ourselves to allow something completely unexpected. Who would have thought that would be hummingbirds, for heck’s sake?
Sometimes the universe gives you little reminders about how to be happy, and this time the message was:
When events want to take on a life of their own, let them. Sometimes the very best thing you can do is to just allow life to take flight, hang on, and enjoy the ride.
A tip for my artist friends
From time to time I will be sharing tips here for my colored pencil and artist friends. I’ve been totally immersed in the art world for awhile now, and I’ve discovered a few things that other artists might find valuable. (In fact, in a few weeks I will be giving a demo class, Tools, Toys, and Tricks, on this topic with my incredibly talented artist friend, Jan Fagan. You’re welcome to join us!)
Here’s today’s tip.
If you feel a little bored and need to add a little zing into your art life, the solution might be as simple as changing-up something very basic. Here’s one of my favorite changeups: Instead of creating a typical rectangular painting or drawing, why not create a round one? A round painting or drawing (called a tondo) allows you to explore a subject in a new way, and invites you to use different angles and composition. Plus, round artworks really attract attention because they are so unexpected. (That’s a great thing when you are trying to catch a judge’s eye.)
Wondering how in the heck you mat and frame round artwork? Not an issue. You can find round frames online at Jerry’s Artarama and mats at Frame It Easy. Pro tip: Consider framing your tondo in a square frame to display diagonally, in a diamond shape. However you frame it, have fun working in the round!
I love this!
Thanks for sharing your experiences at the Casa, after reading this I really want to go to that lobby and have some tea and then wander around the sanctuary. I'm thinking your came home refreshed and not travel weary after dealing with airports. Perfect trip!