A Sanctuary for Winged Visitors

Sanctuary HOLY TRINITY MONASTERY

ON A BRISK SPRING MORNING, a silver-haired monk in a white cowl stood next to a mud-brown church with scissors in his hand and thoughts of Noah in his head. The Rev. Louis Hasenfuss, a Benedictine monk and founder of Holy Trinity Monastery in St. David, was preparing to begin the ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicating the cloister's 42-acre bird sanctuary. The sky was gray. A light drizzle sprinkled the surrounding fields. Except for tiny green leaves on the nearby cottonwoods and flashes of white on the small plum trees, the southeastern Arizona landscape was a bleak canvas of bare branches and pale yellow grasses. Suddenly a ball of fiery red darted across the muted scene and settled on a willow in the brush nearby. "Vermilion flycatcher," whispered David Kreuper, a wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Land Management. The small but resplendent bird needed no introduction for the crowd that had gathered for the opening ceremony. Most of them were avid bird-watchers. Hasenfuss read a prayer, and then he turned his thoughts briefly to Noah, "the patron saint of all

those who would preserve wildlife." The 21 residents who make up the monastery's Benedictine community created a bird sanctuary, Hasenfuss said, because "We want to provide Noahlike protection from all who might harm them."

Over a period of several months, the nine monks, six nuns, and six lay residents developed two gentle trails. The trails descend three natural terraces, each a microhabitat where the birds flourish. The highest terrace, closest to the rammed-earth church, is dominated by massive cottonwood and willow trees that surround one of the monastery's six ponds; just below, the trail flattens out along the second terrace, a mesquite flat with broad fields and a scattering of younger cottonwoods. The lowest terrace descends to the dense salt-cedar thickets adjacent to the San Pedro River. Holy Trinity Monastery, founded in 1974, is in the middle of an unusual desert oasis of mature trees and a dense riverside forest which sunlight barely penetrates. The stands of hairy-barked salt cedars along the river form a natural canopy over the trail and, in warmer months, keep the area 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the fields closer to the monastery office. Like the vegetation that surrounds it, the monastery also is unique. Unlike

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such cloisters in Europe, which look like medieval castles, Holy Trinity Monastery is a collection of small trailers and modest homes. Four times a day, members of the monastic community pray in the adobefaced church they built in the style of a New Mexico mission with vigas of ponderosa pine, a polished-mesquite pulpit, and stained and leaded-glass windows. Like Benedictine communities the world over, this one is dedicated to prayer and physical labor. (See Arizona Highways, December '90) It is also dedicated to preserving the area's ecology as well as its cultural resources, which is why, shortly before the bird sanctuary was developed, the community also created a five-room museum and a small gift shop. Located on State Route 80 a little more than an hour southeast of Tucson, the monastery is insulated from highway traffic by some 350 pecan trees and insulated against chaos by a commitment to silence between 8:30 A.M. and 8:30 P.M. Television sets are nonexistent. Books, art work, and music are as essential to the community's life as the physical labor of tending to cows and sheep and crops.

The monastery welcomes visitors who want a respite from the bustle of daily life. Its 92 acres offer a place where people can get out of the rat race and reflect on the value of other pursuits and perhaps discover their dormant spirituality. In a way, says Sister Placida, one of the resident nuns, the presence of a bird sanctuary may facilitate that process. "The main reason for this monastery's existence is to have a place for people to go where they can find God in their lives; and what better way than through walking among the trees and being silent and listening to the silence? That's often where you can hear God."

Silence may be golden, but some people find it intolerable. As Sr. Placida noted: "Many can't be quiet just to be quiet. They can't just sit in their room and pray all day. They need a purpose, so bird-watching provides that. You develop a sense of quiet within that allows you to be aware of the presence of God."

It allows you to hear and see the 379 species of birds that others have already sighted on the monastery grounds. The BLM's Kreuper has made a thorough study of birds in the area. Often, he said, it was impossible to see all of the birds because of the sheer numbers involved, but those he couldn't see he could identify by remaining still and listening to their calls. Kreuper is stationed at the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, a three-mile-wide and nearly 40-mile-long wildlife preserve which begins a mile south of the monastery and stretches to the Mexican border. (See Arizona Highways, April '89) "Riparian" refers to streamside vegetation, a rarity in Arizona because few streams run year-round. The BLM took title to that narrow ribbon of river in March of 1986. In 1988 Congress acknowledged the uniqueness of the habitat by making the San Pedro River the first riparian national conservation area in the United States. The same vegetation and wildlife found in this federal preserve can be seen - and, in fact, are more accessible from the monastery grounds. Among the birds found there are great horned owls, Harris' hawks, ferruginous hawks, vermilion flycatchers, blue grosbeaks, summer tanagers, warblers, and thrashers. There also have been several rare-bird sightings, including the green kingfisher, crested caracara, rusty blackbird, eastern Phoebe, and the black-shouldered kite. About 15 pairs of lizard-eating gray hawks, which is one-third of the known gray hawk population in the U.S., can be found along the San Pedro River. In addition to the birds, the area surrounding the monastery is home to 80 Resident wildlife encompasses much more than birds. (OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP, LEFT) A pair of javelinas, or collared peccaries. These animals just recently emerged as highly prized game animals. The ringtail cat, or civet cat, inhabits rocky walls of canyons and peaks and caves.

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Resident wildlife encompasses much more than birds. (OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP, LEFT) A pair of javelinas, or collared peccaries. These animals just recently emerged as highly prized game animals. The ringtail cat, or civet cat, inhabits rocky walls of canyons and peaks and caves.

BOTH BY PAUL A. AND SHIRLEY BERQUIST A kit fox. These mammals are most often found in desert scrub or desert grassland. C. ALLAN MORGAN A Couch's spadefoot toad. PAUL A. BERQUIST (BELOW) A peacock trails its showy tail feathers. EDWARD MCCAIN

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species of mammals and 30 to 40 species of reptiles and amphibians, including the strange spadefoot toad. These plump toads remain buried in the hard desert soils for nine or 10 months at a time, come to the surface after heavy rains, and remain aboveground just long enough to make a racket and mate.

Mammals in the area include mule deer and white-tailed deer, javelinas, mountain lions, bobcats, kit foxes and gray foxes, coatimundi, and ringtail cats. The San Pedro River, which in warm weather is reduced to a trickle, also contains 14 species of fish, most of them tiny introduced varieties.

The river, Kreuper explained, functions, more or less, like a long cafeteria feeding line. Birds in Mexico spot the green ribbon of vegetation that makes the river unmistakable as it snakes its way north through the arid terrain of Chihuahuan desert plants, and they feed their way along its course until they reach the Gila River in central Arizona.

Then they head into the evergreens in Arizona's central and northern mountains. When the winds change, and the snow falls in the north, they will reverse their route, stopping again at St. David to visit the monks and native birds on their journey south.

Visitors who are not interested in birdwatching may enjoy spending some time in the monastery's small museum. In addition to the tiny gift-shop area with its paintings and crafts, there are four other rooms, each built around a different theme. One is dedicated to Native American crafts, another to pioneer settlement, a third to religious materials, and a fourth is given entirely to a collection of Nativity scenes from throughout the world. Some of the Nativity scenes are elegant and exotic, such as the delicate Lladro porcelain figures from Spain and the Hummel statues from Germany. There also is an unusual one of carved and painted cottonwood branches made by a visitor from Tucson who came for a weekend retreat and stayed for two years. John Kendall, the artisan, added a light touch to his work: in addition to Joseph and Mary and the Three Wise Men, he included a statue of E.T.

The presence of the whimsical motion-picture character E.T. is a clue. Though members of Holy Trinity Monastery live by the rule of St. Benedict, the sixth-century monk who examined his faith while living alone in a cave for two years, the cloister is hardly an austere institution. The Rule of St. Benedict, which cautioned monks, among other things, to speak little and avoid saying anything humorous, is liberally interpreted at Holy Trinity Monastery.

Additional Reading: For more about the state's waterways, see Arizona Rivers and Streams, an Arizona State Parks Department guidebook ($7.95) that explores hundreds of streams and the wildlife, recreational opportunities, and facilities found near them. To obtain a copy, telephone Arizona Highways toll-free at 1 (800) 543-5432; in the Phoenix area, call 258-1000.

WHEN YOU GO.

To reach Holy Trinity Monastery from Phoenix or Tucson, take Interstate 10 East to Exit 303 at Benson. Go through Benson to State Route 80 East. The monastery is between Mileposts 302 and 303 on the right (or west) side of the highway. A guesthouse and a recreational-vehicle facility are available on the grounds. For information on guest and RV accommodations, call Sister Susan Baker, O.S.B., at (602) 720-4642.