Love for Feathered Friends
I’ve always been fascinated by birds. How could I not be intrigued by these living dinosaurs with their endlessly entertaining personalities, their song and dance, their eggs! Don’t even get me started on the flair and function of feathers…
What wondrous and strange beings we live amongst; yet most birds go by unnoticed during our day-to-day.
On the flip side there is a feral parrot population in our neighborhood that is so obnoxiously loud I would ask others, “Do you think they are fighting? Or is that volume normal for ‘parrot talk’?”
One rainy day a pandemonium had taken cover in the magnolia trees down the street, so I went to investigate what all the squawking was about.
When I got closer, I saw that dozens of these beautiful birds were huddled in pairs preening their wet feathers. There was one lone bird in the flock that looked curiously different from the rest, with red on its wings and patches of blue feathers behind its bright yellow eyes. I later found this was a lone red-crowned Amazon parrot that seemed to have been adopted by this group of red masked parakeets. Where did this lone bird come from? How does that happen? What is the parrot social structure like?
In a few minutes I got an intimate glimpse of the secret life of these chaotic yet also sweet birds. I thought observing them would answer my questions, but it just made me more curious about feathered friends in general.
A few weeks later I started bird watching at a local park with binoculars and my telephoto lens.
Surprisingly these aids were often unnecessary.
I learned that when you are quiet and still the finches, flycatchers, mockingbirds, hummingbirds, and my favorite resident spotted towhee emerge from their hiding spots with their unique personalities on display.
I’ve learned so much from bird watching, and yet there are so many more birds I have yet to see.
My upcoming oil painting collection is inspired by the birds I’ve come to know in my backyard as well as others from far-away places I’d like to see one day. I hope to capture some of their unique personalities and share that connection through my paintings.
Thanks for following along, and I hope you enjoy these photos documenting my passion for bird watching. I can’t wait to share my completed bird-inspired artwork soon!