Reflections on Aspen Summer of Birds

On a sunny morning in late July, Carbondale community members arrived for a bird walk at Coffman Ranch, a 141-acre gem in Colorado with lush mountain views and teeming with birds. The property was saved and preserved by the Aspen Valley Land Trust and now serves as an example of how ranches can also be sanctuaries for wildlife. Local chapter Roaring Fork Audubon led the free guided experience in nature that celebrated birds and their songs. The group saw charismatic American Dippers on the Roaring Fork River, as well as flocks of Lesser Goldfinches flitting between the treetops. After that, a string quartet of local alumni from the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) performed live music inspired by birdsong. 

Coffman Ranch, which is safeguarded by the Aspen Valley Land Trust, was one of the sites for Aspen Summer of Birds, organized by the National Audubon Society and The Birdsong Project with local partners. This slate of programming was inspired by the success of the For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, which recently won a GRAMMY Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Resident artist, environmentalist, and philanthropist Isa Catto originally introduced Audubon and The Birdsong Project to local Aspen partners. Catto has created original artwork that features environmentally threatened birds printed on notebooks, tote bags, and silk scarves, which are listed on the Isa Catto Studio website in support of Audubon’s conservation mission. 

With Aspen Summer of Birds, our goal was to offer community-focused programming that demonstrates how art can help inspire conservation action. The summer’s events started in early June with a “Wildlife Wonder” workshop organized by Audubon Rockies Community Naturalists and educators at Anderson Ranch Arts Center. The weeklong workshop explored birds through the themes of migration, bird song, and adaptations, helping 6- to 8-year-olds learn about nature through creative expression.

Free events took place throughout the last weekend in July. On Saturday, July 27, Audubon's chief scientist Chad Wilsey gave an educational talk at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) Hallam Lake nature preserve about how birds connect people across the hemisphere through their migratory journeys. “Birds tell us that we need to do conservation at a hemispheric scale and that we have to address the climate crisis in order to bend the bird curve and bring back the 3 billion birds we’ve lost since 1970,” he explained. Wilsey opened up his talk by introducing the word seatherny – the feeling of serenity that comes from listening to birds chirp – and connecting this to the importance of birds for our wellbeing and the overall health of our planet. Wilsey’s talk was followed with a lunchtime performance by a string quartet from AMFS. 

Christy Mahon, Development Director at ACES, saw Aspen Summer of Birds as a chance to inspire the community to come together and celebrate birds. “It’s been such a joy for ACES and Audubon to partner together to inspire a joy of birding and birdwatching and bird conservation with The Birdsong Project,” she said.

Two pop-ups took place in town that day in collaboration with AMFS, starting at the Aspen Saturday Market that afternoon and followed by local hotspot Paradise Bakery in the evening. Paradise Bakery created a custom ice cream flavor, "Birdsong & Blueberries," inspired by the weekend's events and in support of the local chapter Roaring Fork Audubon. Taylor Tessier of Taylor and Tessier designed a gorgeous new line with their hand-carved sparrow bird for the Aspen Summer of Birds partnership. "We are so happy to be part of this amazing collaboration with the Audubon Society and The Birdsong Project," Tessier said. “Nature is a huge part of our line. Just being in this valley, nature surrounds us every day.”

The early morning bird walk at Coffman Ranch with Roaring Fork Audubon took place on Sunday, July 28. For Board Chair Mary Harris, Aspen Summer of Birds “inspires a whole different group of people to join birders to conserve. It’s all about conservation.” It was a delight to have two of the valley’s youngest birders, nine-year-old Forrest Abley and 14-year-old George Waaler, partake in the morning’s events. Harris explained that the chapter is an all-volunteer organization that’s looking for younger people to get involved. "We need the next generation of conservationists,” she said, “and birding is so important for kids.” 

The weekend concluded with a performance by local musician Natalie Spears, who took the stage with the AMFS alum string quartet during the Carbondale Mountain Fair. In addition to the AMFS quartet's performance of a suite of bird-inspired tunes, Spears joined them to perform a special arrangement for strings of her original song “Hymn of the Wild Things,” which she was originally inspired to write after seeing a pair of Sandhill Cranes very close to Coffman Ranch in Carbondale. 

“Birds are such a big inspiration in my music,” Spears said. “They bring me into this world beyond myself, and inevitably the music follows.”

Aspen Summer of Birds was a beautiful testament to the power of birds and art to build community in support of conservation. And Audubon’s partnership with The Birdsong Project is all about doing just that: inspiring action in support of our mission to protect birds and the places they – and we all – need.