My newest most very favoritest bird artist

Melody Lea Lamb is it.  What is cuter than cute little critters done in a teensy-weensy format?  Nothing, that’s what.  This stuff is the cutest!  Check out the bird section . . . I defy you to avoid buying.  It’s cute.  Really cute.  And, it’s inexpesive and nothing – but – nothing is cuter than inexpensive cute little critters done in a teensy-weensy format!

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An Awesome Gift

Teachers get lots of gifts at the holidays.  Sometimes we get good gifts and sometimes not so good ones.  I have been quite lucky in my gifts.  But this year, I feel truly blessed.  One of my students has parents and grandparents who are potters.  I guess she shared with them my love of all things Raven because this was my gift from them.

An amazing Raven head.  He will take a place of honor in my home.  I can’t believe how fantastic he is. I suspect that she’s spent as much time admiring Ravens as I have.  I literally gasped and clutched it tightly when I opened it.  Right now it’s on the windowsill in my kitchen and I am admiring it several times a day.

I’d like to share the name of the artist and her contact information but I’m not going to in order to preserve her daughter’s privacy.

Another Amazing Day of Bird Watching

I had another fabulous day of birdwatching today.  I joined my sister, Jody, and met up with my friend, Denine and her friend, Mac at the Pacific International Quilt Show in Santa Clara, CA.  We did some serious birdwatching.  We saw a lot of expected birds and some rather amazing rarities!  Here are the highlights.  Note:  All the pictures can be clicked to embiggen.

Delicious by Rachel Wetzler

There is a lovely Ruby-throated Hummingbird and an American Goldfinch in this lovely garden quilt.

North to Alaska by Anne Joule (New Zealand)

Storks flying north?  Isn’t it the wrong time of year for that?

Moon Garden by Judy Coates Perez

I couldn’t identify this lovely red bird but it sure is eye-catching.  This was a whole-cloth quilt that the artist painted and then quilted.  It was stunning.

Rhapsody at First Light by Bonnie Keller

Two sweet little wrens hiding around the corners of this quilt.

Vertigo by Kathy York

Aren’t these the most adorable — and brightly colored — chickadees you’ve ever seen!  This was easily my favorite quilt in the show.  The artist said that the yellow bird on the ground had a fear of heights and wouldn’t use the ladder. So funny.

Carmel Beach – 1920’s by Mary Ellen Parsons

More spectacular storks.

Western Sea Gull by Jean Dunn

Totally expected to see a Sea Gull today but still this one is striking, don’t you think?

Winter Plumage by Denise Oyama Miller

I just love shorebirds!

Kacho Fuugetu – The Love of Nature by Eiko Kurokawa (Japan)

There are some exotic birds in Japan, aren’t there?

Peace in Our Hands by Jae McDonald

What a lovely dove.  You know what they say about a bird in the hand!

Loon by Lauren L. Ball

I’ve never seen a Loon before but I got two in one day!

The Loonie by Laura Jennings

Kereru in Puriri Tree by Judith Pinney (New Zealand)

I am alerting the local bird groups about this sighting though.  Who could have anticipated seeing a Kereru here in Northern California?  I feel so blessed!

The Karearea – New Zealand Falcon by Judith Briant

I don’t know why there is such an influx of birds from New Zealand. Perhaps this is just an extremely dedicated raptor hunting down some prey.

English Country Garden by Pam Mees

I can’t even begin to name all the English birds seen in this garden.  More unexpected birds.

Hey Kahuna! No Trespassing! by Terry Waldron

More amazing shorebirds.

Penguins by Heather Bloom

While you might not expect to see penguins in California.  The artist is from my own hometown.  Very cool.

Ladies’ Man by Tanya Brown

Is any day of birdwatching complete without a pink flamingo?

You can’t hide . . .

A few weeks ago, I spotted a pair of Steller’s Jays building a nest in the wisteria on our front porch [click].  I was worried about all this as Jays are noisy, big birds.  But, this is one quiet Jay.  She doesn’t want us to know she’s there.  The touch of blue that showed up in my flash gives her away though.  We haven’t been avoiding the porch and often are out their being quite noisy before I remember our nesting Mama.  On the other hand, we’ve all be awakened by Steller’s Jays in the past so maybe this is just getting some of our own back!

Look at how beautiful they are — the striking contrast of black and bright blue, the lattice pattern on their wings, the bright blue eyebrows.  They are a totally stylish punk bird!  I feel honored to have them around us and nesting on our porch.  More to come . . .

~~~~~Edit after submitting to I and the Bird #77~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is more in this series . . .

• Do You See What I See
• We Are Not Afraid
• Beebee Update

They are at it again . . . .

. . . or more proof that I will do anything to get a free book.  Well, a free GOOD book . . . about birds!

10,000 Birds is giving away an amazing book called The Life of the Skies.  All you have to do is a) promote their giveaway (check!) and/or submit a drawing or photo of a bird in flight (hmmmm!).  I am wondering if anywhere in the 45,000 photos I took this week in San Diego did I get any birds in flight?  Probably not because I’m sick to death of taking shots of blue sky.  But, hey, I’ll check . . . I must have a photo of a raven in flight SOMEWHERE!!!  🙂  Go visit and enter the contest. But, I’ll win.  I always win!  Always.  Always.  Always.  🙂  (Now that I’ve doomed myself to failure by bragging unnecessarily, I’ll go back to uploading the 3 GB of pics I took on my trip! )

PS.  Yes, we’re home safe and sound.  Details (3 GB worth!) to follow!   

Gorgeous bird art

Being at the Quilt Show last weekend, got me thinking about bird art again. I revisited the post I did from the Pacific International Quilt show and was impressed again by the interpretation of birds in fabric.

Three Guinea Fowl by Pamela Allen

Birds are springing up in art all over the place.

Of course, the amazing Julie Zickefoose rates high on anyone list of bird artists.

Another artist I enjoy is Pajama Mama. She doesn’t have a lot of birds but they are wonderful!

I also discovered Gina Mikel — I love her Puffin — so cute!

I can’t believe how lovely these prints by Kareem Rizk are. Wow!

My “favorites” list at etsy has some amazing bird art as well.There is a fantastic online exhibit of bird art at the Hill Ornithology Collection at Cornell University Library.

Someday, I’ll have time to create quilts again and you can be sure that birds will feature prominently in my quilting efforts. In the meantime, I’ll have to enjoy my bird art in other ways!

So, question.  Do you have a favorite bird artist that I need to know about?

Did you vote yet?

Over at 10,000 Birds, the polls are open in their essay contest. I voted . . . have you? Guess who I voted for . . . .

And, while I’m talking about the guys at 10,000 Birds, I’d like to thank them one more time for having this amazing contest, for giving away the fantastic prize of the Bird:  The Definitive Visual Guide books, and, most of all, for choosing to give one to me!

I got it in the mail last week.  It was when I was sick with a nasty cold (that I still have, by the way) and I spent a lovely couple of hours perusing it on my couch, wrapped up in my down blankie, sipping hot lemon tea with honey.  I can’t think of a better way to be home sick, honestly.

The book is really wonderful.  The pictures are fabulous.  The information interesting.  It is not a field guide by any means.   It’s one of those general knowledge books — filled with facts and insights.  It is like a box of chocolates (to coin a phrase) and I thoroughly enjoyed nibbling and I felt like I didn’t have to share it with anyone!

It’s such a great book that I think I’m going to put one on my wishlist for my classroom — truly a wonderful book for kids to learn about birds!

Thank you so much to Mike, Charlie, and Corey.  What an amazing job you guys do at birding, spreading awareness of birds, and building a community.  So, go read all the essays and vote, vote, vote!

I won one!

I can’t quite believe it. I still think it might be a hoax. I am clearly, without a doubt, the luckiest birdy blogger on the planet. Mike at 10,000 birds emailed to let me know that I am a winner! I won a copy of Bird, The Definitive Visual Guide for my report on my favorite birding locale — Elkhorn Slough. It’s not enough that he referred to me as a ‘great birding blogger’ but then I win too! I’m floored and so thrilled. That book looks utterly delicious! I can’t wait to get it. Huge thanks to Mike and the rest of the 10,000 Birds team — you put out a fabulous blog with a powerful message, with warm hearts, with loads of fantastic birds, with an amazing carnival (i and the bird) and with phenomenal PRIZES, too!

If you want to buy this book, click above. The proceeds will go to 10,000 Birds!

Ooooo! Look! A bird-related post!

Our friends at 10,000 Birds are at it again.  First they told us about an amazing new book, Bird — it immediately went on my Amazon Wish List (hint, hint!).  Then they upped the ante.  They are hosting a contest and the prize is one of 5 copies of this amazing book.  All you have to do is write an essay about your favorite bird species.  Send it in.  Each week for the next 5 weeks, they’ll pick a winner!  (Winner!) And, the winner will win the book, Bird.

So, my job is now clear.  Somehow in the next few weeks, in between grading the huge stack of ungraded stuff, parent conferences, report cards, and still teaching my students each day, I’ve got to write a brilliant essay about my favorite bird species.  Oh crap.

A Stranger

 

I have never seen you before
You are strange to me
You seem wary in my yard
Approaching the feeder with caution and care
Will you stay long or must you journey on
Your way will be easier with good food and rest

More Stranger  poems at Writer’s Island.
All content written by Liza Lee Miller unless otherwise noted.
© 2007, Liza Lee Miller.