Beth Kingsley Hawkins continues legacy with hummingbirds

Beth Kingsley Hawkins, 86, adores all things hummingbird. While her appearance is lighthearted and fun — she currently sports sparkling hair tinsel, a trend popular among Gen-Z — Hawkins is as thoughtful and studious as she is jolly.

A 30-year resident of Sedona, many people know Hawkins as the cofounder of the International Hummingbird Society, which she helmed with her beloved husband H. Ross Hawkins, Ph.D. from 1996 until his death in 2020.

“For three years as executive director I moved the society forward and kept my husband’s dream alive since his passing,” Hawkins said. “I have not left the society completely. I’m still connected as a board member and I produced the 2025 hummingbird calendar.”

In addition to her work with IHS, Hawkins has followed her own interests throughout her life and is an accomplished musician, award-winning photographer, book author and reiki master. She also is a board-certified music therapist.

Her work has taken her all over the world, to destinations including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Austria. While she doesn’t have any overseas trips planned at the moment, she has been traveling regionally to share her knowledge, with her next engagement taking her to Kingman.

Hawkins is now able to step back and is spending most of her days at her gallery, the aptly-named Hummingbird Gallery, in the Village of Oak Creek, where she sells her photographic prints, books and a carefully-curated selection of gifts that are as diverse as she is. Until recently, the gallery also served as the headquarters for IHS, which is now relocating to West Sedona in the Plaza del Oeste.

“I am loving being back full time in my Sedona Hummingbird Gallery and Spirit Center,” Hawkins said, while noting that she also offers music therapy sessions in the evening hours.

Her sessions take place in her back office, which doubles as a workspace where unfinished manuscripts and various mementos, documents and bric-a-brac surround a comfortable sofa.

Taking a moment to reflect on her journey, Hawkins spoke of her early life and of her grandfather, who was a bank president into his 90s. She said he was the one who instilled in her a desire to “grasp the true meaning of life and to leave a legacy.”

“I think my secret has always been to embrace creativity and go wherever it was that I needed to go and learn what I needed to learn,” Hawkins said. “Music and art have always been a part of my life, and their aliveness give me life.”

Stillness in Motion

Hummingbirds seem to be always in motion. With hearts that beat as fast as 1,200 times per minute or, 200 when they enter torpor, their version of sleep, and wings that flap 100 times per second, they spend most of their time in flight, zipping around in search of food.

It is not unusual to see them perched for a few moments at times throughout the day; however, they must keep moving in order to supply their fast metabolism with a steady diet of nectar and the occasional insect.

Similarly, Hawkins does not appear to rest. Although she has slowed down a little, she isn’t taking her time in retirement for granted, and prefers to be productive.

When asked about her good health, she said she feels “very, very lucky,” especially after her years of working in a hospice and skilled care center as a music therapist. Hawkins told a story about a former patient named Jim, who suffered from terminal brain cancer.

“We made a video of him singing a song, and he felt that it was his greatest performance of his life,” she recalled.

She proceeded to sing the lyrics: “How do you know your youth is all spent? Your get up and go has got up and went. In spite of it all, I think with a grin, of all the great places my get-up has been. When I wake up, I read the obits. If I’m not there, I know I’m not dead — so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.”

Hawkins said the song “gave him purpose in the last year, like he had completed his purpose in life, and he felt fulfilled.”

Helping people has always been a priority for Hawkins, who said that nature and art have been indispensable in helping her replenish her energy while serving others. She looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren, who serve as inspiration for her books, and plans to continue to serve as a beacon for those in need.

While some may find it difficult to reconcile aging with so much activity, Hawkins just laughs and finds amusement in any way she can.

As if to illustrate her point, she burst into a song from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “‘You are old, Father William,’ the young man said, ‘And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head — Do you think, at your age, it is right?’”

Her gallery is museum-like in its mixture of memories and collections. You might just see a hummingbird or two as well.