BIRD MAN OF YOSEMITE Herbert Sonn
By Dr. Jerome Leavitt
According to family legend, Herbert Sonn, the well-loved "Bird Man of Yosemite," arrived at Yosemite National Park in 1914 when he was thirty-five years old, and knew it was his home. He wrote his family in Newark, New Jersey, saying, "Send my things. I'm going to stay." And stay he did, with his love and warmth for the Park unchanging. Sonn found adventure and new fields of study opened up for him in the West. It was here that he made friends with the animals; almost any bird would eat out of his hand. His bird calls were so true to life that he could call the birds, especially the Steller's Jay, to his side.
At Yosemite, his chief occupation became the fashioning of novel bird caricatures using cones from large trees, twisted stems, gnarled roots, acorns, and bits of bark. The sale of these with specially printed postcards provided the major portion of his living.
Mrs. Herman Hoss, an artist who did Park publicity during this period, remembers Sonn very well. "He had a workshop at the old Yosemite settlement called Kenneyville," she said, "where he made his fantastic bird creations out of pine cones, acorns, and whatnots that nature provided. I remember particularly the pine cone owls. He used to welcome any visitor who came to his shop; I think he knew just about everything about birds. It was a pleasure for me to visit him, and he helped me become a dedicated 'nature goof' after I went to live in Yosemite."
When Kenneyville was dismantled in 1926 to make room for the new Ahwahnee Hotel, Sonn appealed to Mother Curry for a site at Camp Curry. She provided him a special place on the western edge of the camp near bungalow 76 A and B. Here he pitched two tents, one serving as a workshop, the other as living quarters. Adjoining the tents, he developed a cleared area surrounded by a fence of brambles and sticks, with seats inside for guests to sit on during his shows. Sonn returned to his Camp Curry location every season until he retired to Southern California in 1937. Information about his winter activities is unfortunately less certain, although he apparently spent some winters at Yosemite Lodge.
Wendell H. Otter, former Assistant Manager at Camp Curry, recalls the interesting Steller's Jay shows that Sonn put on during summer afternoons in his small amphitheater. According to Otter, onlookers gathered twice daily to watch assorted birds land at the feeding stations while Sonn skillfully descried their traits and activities. After the lectures, he sold his postcards and bird caricatures, which were also available at various gift shops in the Valley.
Stuart G. Cross, who spent much of his life at Yosemite and eventually became President of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company, started his career working for Herbert Sonn. He tells of his apprenticeship in a letter:
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