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Birds-in-Art/Art-in-Birds, Entries, 1-10

1. Bill Kaye, Warren, Ohio

I am able to combine two great hobbies at one time and never have to leave the house..ha ha. Photography and bird watching make an awesome and challenging combo. Here is a most recent photo I have taken of a Black-Capped Chickadee on a homemade pine cone feeder.

Bill Kaye, Black-capped Chickadee

2. Maria English, Wheaton, Illinois

Although this is not a picture of American birds, I did find them in an urban area. I caught these two birds bathing in a small water channel at the Alcázar (an old palace) in downtown Seville, Spain. I like to imagine how so many generations of these birds have bathed here and considered it a safe haven, as the palace was built from the 1100's to the 1500's.

Maria English

3. Liz Malyszek, Tampa, Florida

This was a gorgeous view on the way to my children's school this morning. It took my breath away. My own "Sunrise Earth", in my own back yard. We don't need exotic places, just look around. The steam rising from the pond's surface with the egret in profile and the sun rising was too pretty to pass up. I had to u-turn, grab my camera and take a chance of getting a good shot.

This willet was so cute foraging at the waters edge, and I love the water droplet at the end of his beak.

I was lucky enough to see this gorgeous limpkin searching for food in our local Hillsborough River in Lettuce Lake Park, here in Tampa, FL. He grabbed this snail then flew to a good spot to have his hard earned meal. I was able to catch him in flight with his snail in tow. Very exciting. I love the wings in motion but the head and snail in focus. This was taken with my Nikon D300.

This limpkin, with its ruffled feathers, was so serene and pretty I had to send you this photograph. It was like a work of art to me.

I was lucky enough to catch this gorgeous Red-shouldered Hawk nestled in the resurrection fern on the branch of an old oak tree in Myakka State Park, Florida. I really liked the palmetto frond and the radiating light behind its head. This was taken with my Nikon D300.

This mockingbird was singing his heart out in a tree in my yard. He took offense to my photo snapping and flew up and over my head, giving me the eye as he passed. I love the sun glowing through his feathers.

4. Flora Winterle, Big Bend National Park

On a recent trip to beautiful Big Bend National Park, I spotted this empty nest on a desert hike. I was inspired the bravery of the bird who built the nest in such an inhospitable area. Not in a tree or a hidden location, but on a cactus right next to the trail.

5. Marie Cimaglia, Port Jefferson Station, New York

I love to run near the pond in Stony Brook, NY, because the birds inspire me. This particular photo is one of my favorites because it shows the serenity of the pond with the beautiful swans swimming in the water.

6. Randy Bryan, Trumansburg, New York

I have a variety of flower garden shots. I've been a little slow on the birds lately. But I've noticed heavy traffic to the feeders so I need to take the time to shoot more. Attached one I took late summer this year.

7. Beth Westphal, Scandia, Minnesota (youth entry)

I carved a Dark-eyed Junco on the pumpkin. It is obviously a bird in art.

The nest has blue plastic that is used for making art in it. The birds also curled the bush's sticks around the nest without snapping any of them.

8. Theresa Willingham, Crystal Lake, Florida

I just took this photo over the weekend, while kayaking in Crystal River, FL with my 20 year old daughter. It was a gorgeous day! The cool weather this fall has made for some unusually rich fall-like colors here on the Gulf Coast, (we're guessing). As we were paddling along, enjoying an abundance of manatees around us, this osprey swooped low over the river and up into an oak tree with a fish it had caught. Right behind us, homes lined the banks for the river, and canals threaded off on either side, with more waterfront homes. In the near distance, light traffic trundled over bridges and the roads of Crystal River. A dog barked on a dock.

But right there in front of us, beautifully framed by the maple leaves around and behind it, the osprey proceeded to enjoy its meal while we watched from below. For a few moments, it grew so quiet on the river, you could hear the osprey crunching bones with each bite. It was like being privy to some secret moment we weren't meant to see; it was so unexpectedly beautiful, it took your breath away.

If this isn't art, I don't know what is! The brilliance of the fall colors, the striking white of the osprey's throat and legs, the yellow of its eyes picking up the yellow in the leaves around it, and blue sky peeking through in spots. It's art in nature at its finest, a natural, living perfection of form and color. Capturing the moment with my camera isn't what makes it art, though. What truly makes it art is that we were there to receive and appreciate the scene and we were moved by it.

I hope you enjoy the picture. It's not quite as good as the real thing, but it's a nice souvenir.

Theresa Willingham

9. Brigitte Peck Ki Laou, Montreal, Canada

My entry is artistic because I captured several common birds' essence by drawing them in paper. Although I am not professional painter, I got a lot of satisfaction from my work.

I admire the birds' songs and their colorful feathers. They make the most wonderful art in nature.

I am moved by the birds' moral aspect. Most species are monogamous. They stay with the same partner season after season unless one of them is dead. Even though both partners have been separated during winter, they come together again during breeding season if both of them survive.

The birds inspire me about life because their life is short; however, they are cheerful and enthusiastic. They fulfill their responsibility by living their life in full potential, having and raising their young in order to guarantee the continuity of their species. I shed a lot of stress whenever I see these small creatures. Especially in our arctic latitude, our winter birds look like mini energetic stoves.

The birds' songs and their feather's color are the most natural art in our world. The residential birds, such as black-capped chickadee, who stay with us bravely during our rigorous winter move me and inspire me a lot. In the moment when the bird feeds on my hand, there is no boundary between bird's world and ours.This is the first time that I took bird's picture and this picture will be my most cherish souvenir.

Black-capped Chickadee

10. Ed Barry, Port Charlotte, Florida

American White Pelicans are the largest variety of pelicans sporting seven-foot wingspans. They can be fun to watch as they paddle around looking this way and that as in the first photo. Yet they are aggressive and voracious hunters as seen in the second photo where they have trapped fish under a dock. The front two pelicans are diving for a fish and splashing those behind them. When I uploaded the first photo a caption came to mind immediately "c'mon girls, lets go this way".

The elegant Great Egret is usually a solitary fisherman which is seen walking slowly and stealthily in or at the waters' edge spearing fish of all sizes. Watching him catch his meal and flipping it around to swallow it whole is awesome. Fish that are too active are quickly subdued by a few deft stabs with his pointed beak. The egret's neck expands while swallowing a larger diameter fish. Artists often portray these majestic creatures on canvas but none can match seeing them live in nature.

Ospreys are beautiful to observe as they enjoy their favorite past time of gliding gracefully on the thermals while chirping endlessly to their mates. In an instant, their hunter instinct sends them into a lightning swift dive for a fish swimming near the water's surface their talons extended moments before snatching their clueless prey. It is a wonder to behold. The fish is brought back to their nest of twigs and branches which house their hungry offspring. To witness this daily routine of nature in the wild, to see the young chicks growing bigger every week until they fly off themselves is a blessing. The striking color patterns of their feathers are best seen in flight.

Watching a great white egret on a hunt for lizards crawling in the mangroves is like watching a live drama playing out before your eyes. Once a lizard is spotted,the egret goes into stealth mode and very cautiously walks closer to his target. In a blinding fast lunge with his his long neck and sharp beak he snatches his prey. After a few shakes of his neck, he swallows his catch and begins his stalking again.

Marge Barry, Port Charlotte , Florida

We've heard the phrase "life imitates art" but would it be possible for an artist to achieve the beauty of this elegant bird shown completely at ease in its own environment? Even its full body reflection in the still water adds to the richness of the scene. This is art captured in a fleeting second.

Marge Barry

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