Photo Courtesy of Lisa Meyers Swanson - "The Hummingbird Whisperer"

(Anna's HummerMom)

The hummingbirds would so appreciate your support! Our goal is $6,000 this year!

Arizona Gives Day starts April 5th at noon and ends April 6th at noon

Photo courtesy of - Hilary Morejon (our office assistant/ social media) (Costa's hummingbird nest)

We are looking for volunteers for our festival this year! If you are serious about helping out, please email us at: festival@hummingbirdsociety.org

We would appreciate your time in helping make this year's festival a success!

We are thrilled for this year's presenters who will be sharing their insights and knowledge on hummingbirds. Here is a bit of information to help get you familiar with our presenters.

David Salman

“Gardening for Hummingbirds

and the Natural Nectar Plants that Attract Them"

__David will be discussing some of the basic needs of hummingbirds that will attract them to your garden as well as a wide selection of plants that provide natural nectar to feed them. The plants will be suitable for gardens in the western US including the Sedona area.

Bio:

__David Salman / Waterwise Gardening LLC

Horticultural Speaker and Consultant

He is the founder of Santa Fe Greenhouses (1984-2012) and the High Country Gardens mail order catalog (1993-present). He is currently Chief Horticulturist of High Country Gardens online ornamental plant catalog and owner of Waterwise Gardening LLC, a small wholesale greenhouse and ornamental plant breeding business.

__David is a specialist, propagating and growing waterwise native and Old World plants and a leading advocate of xeriscaping (waterwise landscaping), in the use of native plants and planting to feed pollinators through habitat-focused gardening. Their catalog has many designated butterfly and hummingbird flowers. Go to: waterwisegardening.com and “The Xeric Gardener” blog.

Johnny Bliznak, M.D.

The Art and Science of Hummingbirds

__Johnny will speak about ten hummingbird species, their possible ancestry, anatomy, physiology, and some hummingbird basics such as their nutrition, flight, torpor, iridescent feather color, and bill-flower relationship.

Bio:

__Dr. Bliznak graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. degree in zoology and graduated with an M.D. degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He practiced general and musculoskeletal radiology for 43 years until his recent retirement. He lives in Abilene, Texas, and does hummingbird 

photography whenever he can. He has been interested in photography from the time he was 10 years old and has been photographing hummingbirds for 15 years. He has travelled to photograph them in both North and Central America.

Beth Kingsley Hawkins, M. A.

Hummingbird Messengers: a Dance with Spirit

__Beth will share the spiritual and symbolic dimension of hummingbirds. She will address the question: “Can a hummingbird bring messages from a loved one in Spirit?” and will share stories of hope and healing – all through a hummingbird. She gives us her definition of a hummingbird:

Hum·ming·bird / hŭm´ ĭng bŭrd (family Trochilidae)

n. an unusually small bird with wings that sing,

a winged messenger; a flutter of hope,

a flurry of joy; a glimmer of grace,

a whisper of love, a delightful surprise,

a tiny miracle; a spark of the Divine

Bio:

__Beth is currently Executive Director of the Hummingbird Society. Her husband, Ross, its late founder, lovingly dubbed her the Minister of Enchantment for the Society. Together they travelled to Costa Rica to see the Snow Cap and to Trinidad and Tobago eight times to experience and photograph the hummingbirds in their natural habitat. 

__Beth has a master’s in music and music therapy for studies at the Orff Institute at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She is a Reiki master and worked as a music therapist in hospice. She was a music therapy professor at Immaculata College in PA and worked as a music therapist in Geriatrics, with skilled care and Alzheimer’s patients.

__She is now sole proprietor of the Sedona Hummingbird Gallery from 2006 to the present, featuring her photography and everything hummingbird. She is the author of two books, Anna’s in the Snow and Hummy, the Magnificent, how a hummingbird learned to read and is completing her third book, Hummingbird Messengers, designed around her definition of a hummingbird.  Visit her website at: www.hummerlady.com

Gamini Ratnavira

Hummingbirds As Art

__Gamini has just completed a life-long dream of his to paint all the hummingbirds of the world. He will be discussing the process of creating all 350 hummingbird species and the artistic techniques involved, as well as his travels to see over 200 species in the wild for his research. In addition, he will have a slide show presenting many of the illustrations. This will be the first time it has been exhibited and it is the culmination of his 50-year career as an artist.

www.gaminiratnavira.com

Instagram @gaminiratnavira Facebook@HiddenForestArtGallery Fallbrook, California

Bio:

__Gamini is a Sri Lankan American wildlife artist of renown. As a child, he had to sleep on a slanted bed when his pet baby elephant, Maya, sat on it. At the age of 19, he became a self-taught wildlife artist in his native country of Sri Lanka. He was inspired by the beautiful rainforest country he grew up in and wanted to share the beauty and wonder of nature with those around him He says: “As a Buddhist, respect for all life and nature is ingrained in my life philosophy and is a part of my canvas. I have been fortunate to visit over 55 countries keeping detailed sketchbooks, taking photos, and creating paintings from these travels.” At one of his first art shows in 1979, President JR Jayewardene blessed the ceremony, and over 150 paintings were sold in that exhibit.

__The Ratnavira name means “Hero of Gems” and their caste is jewelers. After his father saw his success as an artist, he gave his blessing on his wildlife art career, versus following the family business of gem and jewelry design. 

__The president of Sri Lanka collected his work and named him the Chief Advisor to him on Wildlife and Conservation for the Department of Wildlife. After touring with Prince Philip through the Country, they worked together on “Let them Live”, an elephant conservation program with the World Wildlife Fund and he designed elephant stamps in addition to 34 other postage stamps for his country. Gamini was also commissioned by the President to paint a 9-foot mural of Ringneck Parakeets, for the airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka, receiving over $237,000 US Dollars.

__Fun tidbit: Gamini painted the Anna's hummingbird on our Page Springs Cellars Hummingbird wine label. (Still available!)

Photo courtesy of - Bob Coates

___Pash will be dressed in full costume as Happy the Hummingbird Spirit. She will roam freely near and around the vender booths inside of the Performing Arts Center. She will interact with guests by offering them “wish keepers,” i.e., a colored plastic or other string that she will tie around people’s wrists. She will pose for photographs with visitors and be part of the “scene” and help to create a festive ambiance. 

___A little bit of other hummingbird info, as a spirit animal, hummingbirds are considered to be messengers between the worlds. Happy helps deliver messages and wishes where they need to go. She has attendees close their eyes and make a wish while she ties a wish keeper on their wrists. If wish keepers are removed or taken off, as Happy says, "it doesn’t mean the wish won’t come true, it just means it has gone out into the universe to be fulfilled when, and if, the timing is right". Quite a lot of attendees have reported back to Happy that their wishes have indeed come true! 

Photo Courtesy of - Lisa Meyers Swanon "The Hummingbird Whisperer" (Immature Anna's male hummingbird)

You have probably noticed by now more and more hummingbirds in your surrounding area. Migration is well on its way, still! Make sure you log your sightings into the Hummingbird Central Interactive Map. We look forward to seeing the map grow!