When I’m out by the river I’m also thinking about what birds I might see. That’s especially true during the Spring Migration when there’s a good chance I will run across a species I’ve never seen before. In the advent that nothing new comes along…I’m not adverse to making a bird myself! Above is a quickie that I made recently. I call it a “Styro-swift”. The materials are essentially the same as before, polystyrene, wood, plastic, and coal for the eyes. The bill is made with the broken teeth of an old comb. With more time, I think I could have photographed this better.
Here are three recent and very real birds. The first is a male Indigo Bunting and he’s puffing his feathers out displaying to the unseen female in the bush above him. Perhaps it is a trick of memory, but the Indigo Buntings I remember in western Kentucky were darker and more iridescently blue. The Falls birds seem much lighter in color.
I can always count on seeing American Goldfinches. This male is obviously taking a bath, but this area on the beach seems special to them. Perhaps there is something in the water and grit here that benefits them? It’s a kind of goldfinch lick. I love watching their singing, rolling courtship flights.
This young Blue jay was so focused on the beetle he was trying to eat that he almost got run over by a truck. I had to shoo him away from the danger on the road. When I’m walking through the woods, I try to avoid jays and the alarm they can ring out to every other living thing in the area. I have other bird images, but will wait to post them at a later date.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 