This event is part of the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. The fee is $15/person and registration is through the festival website.
Meet at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia, Arizona for a unique outing that will introduce you to mindful practices that you can incorporate into your birding experience.
Leaders for this outing are Holly Thomas and Chris Benesh. Holly is a certified RYT 500 meditation/yoga teacher who has led birding outings for Audubon groups and eco-education programs for underprivileged youth. She has a Ph.D. in Physiology and has conducted research on anti-inflammatory compounds and stress response at UC Berkeley. Chris is a long-time professional birding guide with FieldGuides Birding Tours.
Our leaders will share the health benefits of mindful birding, lead the group in a guided meditation and explore other nearby birding areas. There may be some time for optional sketching or journaling. This will not include a formal yoga practice, but we’ll do some simple stretches that can be done in the field. No mats or yoga attire (regular “birding” clothes are fine!) will be needed.
Our focus will be on being open to whatever shows up rather than a list of target species or identification of species (though we are not opposed to ID-ing birds, it won’t be an ID-intensive field trip). This field trip may be for you if you are curious about mindfulness practices and are interested in exploring a less target-oriented style of birding.
Other details to note:
Drive time to the location from the festival venue (in Tucson) is about 70 minutes, and specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand.
May involve 1-2 miles of walking on flat walking trails/roads
Simple yoga stretches that can be done in the field–no yoga mat required
Benches, other seating, and Port-a-potties available at Paton Center
Family-friendly and open to beginner birders
Please bring binoculars
Registration is through the bird festival website