191. Krista Zogg, Ontario, New York

“I am five years old and I drew this picture of a blue bird and myself.  Blue birds are my favorite kind of bird because they are a pretty blue.  I saw one once at our bird feeder in the fall.  I am entering the Birds in Art contest because I want to share my picture with you.”

192.  Ashley Fairbanks, Smyrna, New York

I submitted my entry to the art in birds contest because i thought it would be fun to try something new.

193. Heidi Multari, Athens, New York

The Sea Gull was hovering over the back of a boat and I was able to take the photo of the bird in flight.  When I saw the photo I was struck by the tail feathers and being able to see the details of it's wings in motion.  The white feathers are striking against the blue sky (the contrast). It is just beautiful. I find these things artistic. What inspires me is the face of the sea gull. It reminds me of the American Bald Eagle - very noble.  I was lucky to take this photo and it gives me a new perspective of sea gulls.

194. Morgan Ogilvie

195. Jessica Kornheisl, Coxsackie, New York

Although there are no actual birds in the image, my simple watercolour was inspired by the architecture of the avians.  I am always amazed at the delicate yet strong construction of nests, and in the care and creativity that goes into making  them.  Although they might be built in the oddest nooks, in the roughest areas, and be exposed to the harshest conditions (natural and manmade), the nest always looks soft, warm, safe, and inviting.  One cannot help but be a little jealous of the cozy home bird eggs get to have.

Williams Faulkner said, "The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life." Although my piece might not use any modern materials or have a particularly contemporary aesthetic, it is creative in its attempt to capture the life in and around a nest, any time, any where.  The comforting atmosphere, with a sense of peripheral activity, and the aura of tender life cradled precariously, will hopefully be held fixed for another day, whether it be a month from now or a hundred years.  

196.  Cindy Vile, Quakertown, Pennsylvania

This is a picture of a Blue Heron taken from our school room.  This beautiful bird is so big and his wing span was breathtaking as he took off from his perch on this roof.  Later we realized that there was a reason for him to be attracted to this location.  It was the 8 fish in our pond that he was watching.  After this picture was taken, we discovered ALL of our fish gone.  I hope he had a nice lunch.

197.  Robby Zogg, Ontario, New York

“I am a nine year old boy.  I am entering this drawing because I want some bird recordings.  I also want to tell you that I like watching English House Sparrows and that God made birds cool.  I like them because they protect their family by fighting and scaring other birds from their nest.  I see them in the backyard.  We have a birdhouse on our deck.  English House Sparrows are one of my favorite birds.”

198.  Rachel Zogg, Ontario, New York

I am a seven year old girl.  I like to watch the house sparrows eat.  They like to eat breakfast the same time as me.  I see them in my back yard out the window at the bird feeder and bird house.  I took this picture while a sparrow was eating.  I am submitting this picture because birds are one of my favorite animals.

199. Jasmin Ferdous Ullah, Herndon, Virginia

The intricately modeled proportionality of birds is what I truly find
beautiful in any bird. A beak that extends past the length of my arm
amazes me with its somehow agile grace. One would expect such an
appendage to be clumsy and overdone. Feathers that stretch past the
boundaries of simple logic fill me with awe as they catch the air
effortlessly in downy-soft teeth. The eyes, so small, burn fiercely
from the hollow depths of faceted faces, reminiscent of the warriors
of lore. There is nothing more inspirational than to see an endless
neck extend to pluck its prey from the water or hooked claws expertly
gripping a battered branch.

200.  Dorothy Weiss, Alexandria, Virginia

One day I was looking for cool clip art on the Internet to use as my “avatar” for a birding discussion group I was joining.  I found some wonderful, highly stylized images that fascinated me in their ability to capture the essence of a particular species with just a few lines.  They inspired me to try some of my own.  

I did these in the Paint program that comes with MS Windows.  I’m not very good at drawing with a mouse, so it was fun just to start with a couple broad strokes and see what type of bird emerged. (It’s also why one is sort of a wren/warbler hybrid!)  All are species that, like me, live on the Potomac River directly under the final approach into busy, noisy, urban Reagan National Airport!