BirdWatching USA – September-October 2019

http://www.BirdWatchingDaily.com 7

birdingbriefs

Sightings of Plain-capped
Starthroat, a hummingbird
from western Mexico, in 2002
and 2003 put Ash Canyon Bed
and Breakfast on the birding
world’s map. Birders came
from far and wide to this
southeastern Arizona site to
see the rarity. And soon,
people realized that the yard
attracted Lucifer Humming-
birds unlike any where else in
the region. Later, Montezuma
Quail became a nearly
year-round visitor.
The site’s owner, Mary Jo
Ballator, opened up her yard
to visiting birders, and she
continued to keep it open
even after health reasons
forced her to close the bed
and breakfast. Ballator died

in late May at age 74, leaving a

legacy of generosity, friend-

ship, and love for the region’s

birding community.

The property has been

renamed the Mary Jo Ballator

Nature Sanctuary, and it

reopened to the public in

mid-July, Thursdays through

Tuesdays. Now, her friends

are working to raise funds to

purchase it. Rob Gallucci, a

photographer, set up a

GoFundMe page in hopes of

raising $500,000.

“Our immediate goal is to

make sure we cover costs for

daily operation, including

feed and any directly related

costs,” he explains. “Our

more ambitious long-term

goal, with the encouragement

of Mary Jo’s children, is to

ensure the continued access

of the sanctuary to birders,

scientists, academia, and

youth. Thankfully, a group of

volunteers, including Mary

Jo’s son David, has been

formed to manage the daily

feeding of the birds and

upkeep of the property. It is

expensive to maintain the

yard, and there is a lot of

work to be done, both on

projects Mary Jo had started

and others to keep the

sanctuary accessible.”

Gallucci says the money

would enable the purchase of

the property and to make

needed renovations to open

the facility to schools for

education field trips and,

possibly, to university

ornithology departments for

collaborative studies.

If you would like to

contribute, go to http://www.

gofundme.com and search for

“Friends of Mary Jo Ballator.”

Birders hope to save a sanctuary

Friends raising funds to purchase a beloved Arizona property

UNRIVALED: Mary Jo Ballator at

her Arizona sanctuary, with her

pet African Grey Parrot.

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