Secluded Staycations: Luxe, Little Known, Los Angeles Birding

One of the most rewarding aspects of birding is finding new and unexpected spots to point your binoculars. Bird enthusiasts in Los Angeles have an abundance of options when it comes to the sheer diversity of bird species and places to observe them in the local region, but the hunt for new places to explore is always part of the fun, and the more unlikely the better.

One surprising alternative to the same heavily trafficked parks and hiking trails is hidden in plain sight—some of the best hotels in the L.A. area feature spectacular birding from the comfort of their grounds and even the privacy of their rooms. In this time when we find ourselves keeping closer to home, these hotels offer opportunities for tranquil birding staycations without risking travel or crowds.

A Quiet Canyon Retreat

The Hotel Bel Air is a birder’s paradise with Old Hollywood pedigree tucked away in the canyons. The Bel Air has an elegant and distinctly Southern California style, updated in 2011 with a more contemporary feel that still nods to its rich history. The best birding at the Bel Air is on the canyon side rooms, which attract a host of avian visitors to their secluded private patios.

If you want to stretch your legs, the grounds of the Bel Air are extensive and designed almost like a botanic garden, with plant species labeled and ample room for observing the wildlife attracted to the lush foliage. One of my favorite garden flowers at the hotel is the pink abutilon that trails along the walking paths on the lake side of the property. The lake itself draws a variety of indigenous waterfowl and is also home to the Bel Air’s beloved swans, whose images appear as a recurring motif throughout the hotel. The Swan Lake Suite (a favorite of Cary Grant and Gene Kelly) boasts a breathtaking view of its namesake.

Greener Pastures on the East Side

The Langham in Pasadena is the East Side’s answer to the Hotel Bel Air, with a more traditional feel to its design. The Cottages at the Langham have patios that open onto the grounds, where the flowering plants attract hummingbirds and other pollinators just outside your door. If you choose instead to stay on the seventh floor of the main building, you’ll be treated to an eye level view of woodpeckers as they flit and peck about the treetops. Strolling the grounds in the early morning or dusk, expect to see (and hear!) geese flying in formation overhead.

If you’re looking to venture beyond the hotel grounds, the Huntington Library and Gardens and Descanso Gardens are both close by and offer more opportunities for safe and distanced outdoor exploring and are each home to more than one hundred species of birds. Both gardens currently require advance ticket reservations to maintain a reduced capacity for safe distancing.

A Breath of Fresh Air on the Beach

Lovers of sea and shorebirds will find their birding utopia at the modern and beachy Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica. The ocean-view rooms claim breathtaking Pacific Ocean vistas from their balconies where you can watch gulls soar through the air, sandpipers scamper across the beach, and pelicans make spectacular dives for fish.

If you keep your eyes on the waves, you may be treated with a view of a pod of dolphins or migrating humpback whales (look for the spouts!). Although the ocean is the main attraction at the Miramar, you can also roam to the readily accessible hiking trails in the nearby Santa Monica Mountains, where red-tailed hawks make their home.

In Los Angeles, we’re lucky to have the biodiversity of the natural world so deeply integrated into the city itself, where it’s easy to enjoy the wellness benefits and calming presence of nature alongside the comfort of a polished urban environment. For bird loving Angelenos, adding new species to your life list while recharging in a serene environment is just a reservation away.

Sarah Barnard is a WELL and LEED accredited designer and creator of environments that support mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. She creates highly personalized, restorative spaces that are deeply connected to art and the preservation of the environment. An advocate for consciousness, inclusivity, and compassion in the creative process, Sarah’s work has been recognized by Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Real Simple, HGTV and many other publications. In 2017 Sarah was recognized as a “Ones to Watch” Scholar by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).   

Birding for Well-being: How Connecting with Nature Can Improve Mental Health

Western Tanager

There are many proven health benefits to being in nature daily. For example, walking in the woods, also known as the Japanese custom "forest bathing," or "shinrin-yoku," lowers stress levels and boosts overall well-being.

Scaly Breasted Munia

Researchers from the University of Exeter recently found that bird watching can have a positive effect on mental health. They discovered that people who are able to watch birds from their homes have a lower risk of depression, stress, and anxiety compared to people who live in less nature dense areas with fewer birds…

Biophilia, the hypothesis that humans innately seek a connection with nature, drives biophilic design. This central home design principle aims to create healthy and comfortable spaces through the incorporation of natural elements. As a WELL and LEED accredited interior designer, I use biophilic design to create happy and healthy spaces for my clients. Biophilic home design ranges from adding indoor plants to ensuring proper air circulation throughout the home, to one of my frequent design priorities, arranging spaces to showcase natural views. I invite you to consider amplifying the soothing properties of your view by creating a safe-haven for birds in your yard.

Goldfinch

Birding as a hobby currently ranks second to gardening as America's favorite pastime, with an estimated 43% of all U.S. households, or about 65 million people, participating each year. Watching birds and their behavior may contribute to feelings of relaxation, which in turn leads to reduced stress and improved mental health. As a bird enthusiast, I would agree that watching birds in my garden helps me expand my perspective, gain focus and ultimately feel more at ease.

Bewick’s Wren

Based on my experience, I've put together a list of helpful tips for beginning bird watchers.

To first attract birds to your garden, observe the birds that currently frequent your neighborhood. Investigate their eating preferences and offer their favorite foods in your garden. In Los Angeles county, sprinkling mixed seeds about in the garden will likely attract mourning doves, white-crowned sparrows, and other ground feeders. Towhees love a protein-rich diet, and will eagerly indulge in dried mealworm. Orioles have a sweet tooth and fancy grape jelly and fresh oranges. Goldfinches love thistle seed, and house finches, while willing to eat most seeds, seem most excited for shelled sunflower seeds.

Goldfinch

I began with a tube feeder that only accommodates tiny birds. For the first few months, I solely had house finches visit. The mourning doves came soon after eating the seeds on the ground that the finches dropped. I soon realized that I would need more diverse feeding stations to attract larger birds.

Black-headed Grosbeak + Mourning Dove

If you are hoping to have a greater variety of bird species come to your garden, try adding a platform tray feeder. Last year, I hung a platform tray feeder from a tall post and was delighted when the first scrub-jay arrived. Since then, I've had an ever-expanding variety of visitors that include black-headed grosbeaks, scaly breasted munia, juncos, European starlings and the occasional red-tailed hawk. I've found that somehow birds bring more birds. Once word gets out in the neighborhood that free food is served, they find their way.

Rufous Hummingbird

If you're still not having much luck attracting birds to your garden, this could be because some species, like Beswick’s wrens, are shy and seldom visit feeders located out in the open. I've outfitted the perimeter of a covered outdoor area in leafy shade plants like an assortment of ferns, Ficus triangularis, and abutilon. Nearby I've nestled a suet feeder among the ferns and hanging baskets of plants. I found that placing the suet feeder amongst the plants provides wrens the security of leafy cover while offering the opportunity to watch the birds feed just feet away. Hummingbirds will also visit to drink from the abutilon blossoms, sometimes only inches away from where I'm sitting. It's magical.

Foxglove

If you're interested in having hummingbirds come to your garden, many plant species attract them. Although they do like hummingbird feeders, they seem even more interested in drinking nectar from flowering plants. Interestingly, bugs comprise a third of a hummingbird's diet; they don't just live on nectar. By planting nectar-abundant plants, you'll also attract more bugs for them to eat. Brightly colored, tubular flowers hold the most nectar and are, therefore, particularly attractive to hummingbirds. Examples of these types of flowers include salvia, foxglove, and fuchsia.

European Starling

Try adding a water feature to your yard. Birds love moving water, and it has been such a delight watching them bathe in a simple multi-tiered fountain. A bird-friendly fountain does not need to be anything elaborate that requires special plumbing; it can be as simple as buying a solar-powered water feature at your local nursery or online retailer. A solar-powered water feature is a cost-effective and energy-friendly option, and its cordless design allows for mobility.

Female Black-headed Grosbeak + Male House Finch

Whenever possible, orient furniture to face views of the outdoors and place bird feeders in locations visible from the indoors, without spooking the birds. It is delightful to watch the early risers, pecking around the garden for insects before sunrise, drinking my morning tea.

Mourning Dove

As more of us are working from remotely now, nature and home design are imperative to promote calmness, serenity, and healthy living. I hope this time at home can provide new opportunities to appreciate our surroundings, and the beauty and pleasure of observing local birds.

White-crowned Sparrow

Sarah Barnard, WELL AP, and LEED AP designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that connect deeply to nature and art. Empathy and mindfulness are the foundation of her practice creating healing, supportive environments that enhance life.

Designer Sarah Barnard on Why Empathy Is Central to Her Work

Article by Gwendolyn Purdom, originally featured Houzz.

Growing up with historic preservationist parents, Sarah Barnard got her introduction to architecture and home design at a young age.

“I grew up in historic homes, and my father was restoring furniture and light fixtures and stair railings and you name it,” the Los Angeles interior designer says. “Certainly, as things progressed in life, I think his talents became mine.”

The experience also shaped the way Barnard now approaches her work as the principal designer at Sarah Barnard Design — a firm built on sustainable, wellness-focused and otherwise mindful practices. (Barnard is a WELL accredited professional, a Building Biology practitioner and a LEED accredited professional.)

“Reducing, reusing, recycling — these types of things were not novel concepts,” Barnard says. “Being sensible and responsible in our choices and in our material specifications is something that’s always been a part of my life and definitely influences the way that I work.”

Barnard, who has been using Houzz to share project photos and to connect with fellow professionals on Pro-to-Pro discussion boards almost since the platform launched, has been seeing more and more clients, parents particularly, looking at their homes through a more thoughtful, holistic lens. Beyond being environmentally conscious, Barnard’s home design projects revolve around creating spaces that are personalized to support mental and physical health and happiness.

“If we all could be so lucky to exist in a space that is uniquely ours,” Barnard says. “There really is no happier environment than a space that is specially made for you.”

PHOTO BY: CHAS METIVIER

Q. You specialize in wellness design, sustainable design, and other mindful design practices. Why did you choose to make those specialties central to your work?

A. Empathy is really the foundation of our studio’s practice. Being able to meet our clients where they are and create environments that support them in living their best lives is really the heart of what we do.

My two primary credentials are LEED AP [accredited professional] and Well AP. LEED focuses more on environmental responsibility. WELL is focused more on human health. Those two things, along with historic preservation, really are the key focuses of my practice.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

That said, the personalization piece is really where it’s at in terms of being able to adapt to a broad range of situations. Sometimes that is a client who is seeking a vegan or perhaps a sustainable and vegan environment.

Other times it might be something that’s more of a specific family need, like a child with developmental differences or a person who has 13 cats. Any personalized need that could be better accommodated through home design is something that we’re keen to help with.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

Q. How do you work around challenges those specialties may present?
A. There are always limitations, and one thing we learn as design students and we practice throughout life is that limitations really drive design. With a big, broad, open scope the outcome could be anything, but the more limitations the project has to endure, the more specific the outcome.

An example of that is that we have a client who utilizes a prosthetic leg, and of course, this is something that is integral to her day-to-day function but not something that she would like to draw attention to. In the process of designing her home, it was disclosed at some point that she didn’t want certain types of textiles that would make it difficult for her to get up or get down. Something that might be more slippery, for example.

So, something that we may not have been aware of at the start of the project — once we’re armed with the information of what specific textures are going to be safest for her, then we can proceed accordingly in recommending those well-matched solutions.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

Q. Where do you find inspiration?
A. On a personal level, I’m definitely very much connected to the natural world. For me, that means spending time in my garden, doing a heck of a lot of birdwatching, really being tuned in to the small daily differences — like what the birds are doing, what the plants are doing, what the caterpillars are doing.

Being in touch with what’s going on in the natural world is a really important way for me to stay grounded in my professional life. Those textures, colors, patterns, things that I experience in the outdoors definitely drive the solutions that I create indoors.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL ARTWORK: KEVIN MOORE

Q. What has been your most memorable client request? You worked with someone with 13 cats?
A. Yes. We made a special screened porch for the cats so that they could enter and exit the house safely without being eaten by a coyote or disturbing the neighborhood bird population. They were able to bask in the sun and live their happy lives safely and in a way that made the homeowner pleased.

I think perhaps the most fun request we’ve had in the last few years was that a young couple in the entertainment industry wanted an adult sleepover room. It was a very large space that would essentially have multi-functions for hosting parties, but the sofas would be modular and movable so that they could be reconfigured as king-sized beds. And if the party got late and movie-watching turned to sleep, 10 or more couples could camp in this room.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

Q. Is there one particular project that changed your business in some way?

A. In my late 20s, I had the opportunity to design the West Coast offices for National Geographic Entertainment. And that certainly was an important project for us, because it was not only aesthetically in our dream wheelhouse, but it also was a client that more than ever before really was in alignment with our values and the things that we think are important. That definitely was a fantastic experience.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

Q. What advice would you offer to pros who want to make their practice more sustainable or mindful?

A. The most critical skill in mindful design is listening — creating a space in which the client feels comfortable to share, and then really listening and asking follow-up questions, many of them, prior to offering any solutions. Probably the most common rookie designer mistake I see is, designers, want to view a space and immediately make recommendations. And in doing that they would have missed the most critical element of the space, which is the user.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

Q. What particular challenges is the interior design industry facing?
A. Interior designers have always had a singular challenge, which we will probably face for decades to come, and that is that many homeowners don’t actually understand what we do. Because of this sort of lack of education in the homeowner, they may misunderstand our services to be shopping. They may misunderstand our services to be a number of things that are not actually what interior design practice is fundamentally about. And because of this misinformation, I think designers may struggle to communicate their value to a person who perhaps hasn’t worked with a designer before or isn’t familiar with all the benefits a professional can bring to a project.

Because I have been in the game most of my adult life, I am fortunate to be approached regularly by clients who are knowledgeable, who do value what my team has to offer. I think in the rare occurrence where we’ve worked with a client who struggles to understand the process, we just remain patient and explain to whatever length necessary so that they can understand what is happening and why.

A great example of that would be, I had a client once and he said he didn’t need measuring; he just needed furniture. That’s an example of someone who just doesn’t understand the steps of the process. Being patient with him and explaining to him why measuring is critical to the process allowed him to remain in support of the work that we were doing and understand what we were delivering and why.

PHOTO BY: STEVEN DEWALL

Q. What advice would you offer other pros on making their own design specialties stand out?
A. It’s like the advice that our moms all gave us as children, but it’s critical to be yourself — thinking about what’s really important to you and what are the things that you really, really are passionate about and being more a part of those things.

For example, for me, it’s nature and birds and that’s my truth. It’s easy for me to talk about nature and birds because that is my real life. It’s much more difficult to try to follow the trends of others and latch on to boho-chic or whatever is the latest thing. Because if the latest thing is not your thing, it’s never going to be authentic anyway.

Sarah Barnard designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that connect deeply to nature and art. Empathy and mindfulness are the foundation of her practice creating healing, supportive environments that enhance life.