Crow Centric

Snowboarder Crow Spotted on YouTube

2012-01-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

Crows do love to play....

Apologies for the missing video. If you hit the play button you'll see it's been yanked by the Russian filer. Oh well, you can find it easily on YouTube.

Flights of Fancy at the Folk Tree

2011-06-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Flights of Fancy,

An Exhibition About Flying, Real and Imagined

can be viewed at The Folk Tree in Pasadena

from July 16 to August 13, 2011.

Reception: Saturday, July 16 from 2 - 6 pm.

Airspace

(8" x 10" x 1.75")

I'm looking forward to seeing

what other artists have submitted.

Here's a sampling of some of the other work:

by Walter Askin

Flying Insect by John Fox

by Robyn Feeley

The Folk Tree is located at

217 S. Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105

(626) 795-8733

www.folktree.com

Juvenile Crow Takes a Bath

2011-06-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have a water feature built for the birds in my back yard. Today was the first time I've seen any crows come to bath. The water's not deep but this fellow managed a bit of a splash.

Christmas Corvids?

2010-12-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas!
Reverence for Raven Chandelier by Jason Tennant.

An homage to Corvids, right in your home. Each Raven has a 36" wingspan. Each one is hand carved with symmetrical exposed wood grain on wings and the concentric grain on the breast focuses on the heart. Black pigment, exposed wood grain, clear finish and wax. Carved Spruce. The wood in these three Ravens has been very carefully selected to match one another.
Click here to go to his Etsy store.

NATURE: A Murder of Crows

2010-10-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, October 24, PBS will present a program called "A Murder of Crows." A lot of clips from the show are up online but here is one that you won't see in the program, according to filmmaker Susan Fleming:

Crow and Owl

2010-10-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the rest of the photography contest winners:
Natural History Museum Wildlife

Garden of Eden

2010-06-04T12:04:00.001-07:00

Trees. Birds. Harmony.

This piece was included in a show at The Folk Tree Gallery this year:
The Folk Tree is located at 217 South Fair Oaks Avenue, minutes walking distance from the Gold Line’s Del Mar Station (and just fifteen minutes from downtown Los Angeles off the end of the 110 freeway) near the heart of Old Pasadena. Gallery hours are: M-W, 11-6; Th-Sat, 10-6; Sun, 12-5.
For more information, contact The Folk Tree at 626/795-8733 or Gail Mishkin at 626/793-4828.

Noah's Crows

2009-07-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Noah Counted on Crows

After the rains stopped, Noah sent crows (or ravens) to look for land. For days they returned and then one day they did not. Noah suspected they had remained on dry land and sent the dove for confirmation. The dove brought back the branch with leaves. My piece focuses on this part of the story --the pair of crows flying over the waves as the weather clears and the weary ark waits.

(From an exhibition at The Folk Tree Gallery titled: Noah's Ark: Two by Two)

Crows at Bunny Gunner

2009-07-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

Crazy Tea

Bunny Gunner is a great little gallery in the Art District in Pomona, California. Suzie and Juan are celebrating their second successful year with a summertime-themed show at Bunny Gunner. I was included. Summertime around my place, means very few flowers. It is just too darn hot. However, one persistent wildflower that grows all over the country bursts forth with new white blossoms every evening. Jimson weed. It took me a few years to get one of them started in my side garden. I never knew they bloomed in the evening until I experience it. Because they are a native plant, they come with native bugs which attract native birds. Bonus!

I collected and pressed a lot of the blossoms. In photographing them, I noticed the folded-over centers resembled the beak of a crow. Which led to the following paintings. Small, 8 by 10 inches. They are named after the plant.

Mad Hatter

The Crow and the Foe

2009-06-16T20:58:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Grace and Lauren for sending this photo of a very angry crow tackling a huge vulture. The photo was featured as photo of the day on a British news site, Telegraph.co.uk.

The caption to the photo reads: A crow hitches a ride on a vulture in Soria, Spain.

But I think Lauren nailed it:

I doubt the crow is actually “riding” on the vulture, rather maybe the crow was being territorial and dive bombing the bigger bird? The photographer got an amazing shot. And that vulture is one bad-ass looking bird.

Corvid Intelligence Test

2009-05-17T10:59:00.001-07:00

Ravens are some of the cleverest animals to exist in the wild. Watch this amazing and complicated test of their intelligence here. Clip taken from BBC animal show Clever Critters, narrated by comedienne Dawn French.

Crow on Goal

2009-03-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

A Carrion Crow wearing a Japan national soccer jersey dribbles a miniature ball toward a goal at a Japanese zoo. "We tried to coach owls and falcons as well, but the crows were the best," said zookeeper Satoru Tanaka.

Soccer is for birds here — more specifically the crows.

A flock of the birds dressed in soccer jerseys showed off their dribbling and shooting skills at a Japanese zoo as football fever gripped the nation.

The four young carrion crows at Tokuyama Zoo in western Japan used their beaks to dribble a miniature ball toward a soccer goal, sometimes tackling each other for possession before scoring, according to head zookeeper Satoru Tanaka.

"The crows get tidbits every time they score", Tanaka said.

"We tried to coach owls and falcons as well, but the crows were the best. They're such intelligent creatures," he said. "The birds have only received about a month's training," he added.

The zoo is now trying to teach the avian team to pass and take free kicks, according to Tanaka.

Crow Catches Fish Using Bait

2009-02-20T19:55:00.001-08:00

This video was shot by Dr. Oren Hasson who states: "This video undoubtedly shows one of the most sophisticated behaviors ever seen in a wild animal."

Crows do like to dunk some types of food in water to soften it. Perhaps, by chance, fish showed up to eat the food the crow was soaking and the bird took advantage of the situation.

Here is a Green Heron using bread as bait for fishing. It makes me wonder if the crow learned to fish by copying behavior or if it developed independently. Hmmm.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Wire

2009-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

An interesting photograph by Ian York.

Lee Hale Bronze Candlesticks

2009-02-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

WANT!!

If you do, too, you can order them at Erie Basin in Brooklyn.
My friends who are subscribed to this blog and my CrowAday blog tell me that they are getting ads for anti-wrinkle crows' feet cream these days. hmmmm. Made me think of these candlesticks...my preferred version of crows' feet.

Cranky Corvid--Common Raven vs. Bald Eagle

2009-01-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

Frank Peele is not only an outstanding photographer, but a very generous teacher. His help to me has been invaluable. He had a recent raven encounter and I am so glad he shared his story and photographs. (please observe copyright protection.)

I was up at Big Bear with several colleagues photographing Bald Eagles. At one point a raven was pestering an immature eagle, getting so bold as to go out on the eagle's branch to try to get in a peck or two.When this failed to cause the eagle to fly to a different perch, the raven hopped up to the branch above the eagle, where he commenced tearing off bark and throwing it down at the eagle!
(Both images were made with Canon's 600mm f/4 lens + 1.4x extender, yielding 840mm focal length, on an EOS 5D MkII body. )

Yata Garusu: Japan's Three-Legged Crow

2009-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

From Japan:

Yata Garasu is the bird of the sun goddess Amaterasu which appears in the Japanese ancient document called the Kojiki. It is written, that Yata Garasu was called upon to choke a beast which was attempting to devour the sun.
This famous crow with three feet is believed to have guided the Emperor Jinmu from Kumano to Yamato, (Nara.)

This bronze statue of Yata Garasu can be found at the Kumano Gongen shrine.

It has become famous as the logo for the Japan Soccer Association.

Three Black Crows Candlestick Formation

2009-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

What? What is a three black crow candlestick formation? I'm sorry, I can't explain. But you can go read a ton about it on Candlesticker.com.

"The three black crows candle formation does not happen very frequently in stock trading, but when it does occur swing traders should be very alert to the crow's caw." -Street Authority.com

I just thought it was another interesting placement of crow.

Crow is the Word

2009-01-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

Lift is one of the paintings I have in the show at the Cactus Gallery.

Birds at the Cactus Gallery

2009-01-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

The Cactus Gallery is a charming place in Eagle Rock, California, with a very charming proprietess. This is where I fell in love with the work of Walt Hall. This painting is titled, Crow.
Visit his website, TheSappyStudio.com for more work and a peek at his fencepost series.

a crow a day

2009-01-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

I just started a new blog. I'm going to make a crow a day for the next year!

Check it out:

http://www.crowaday.blogspot.com

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Crow Bar and Kitchen

2008-12-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

So, the other night a visitor to my home, spotting all the crow-themed artwork (mine and others) remarked, "Oh, you must love going to the Crow Bar!" I have to confess, I didn't know of the Crow Bar, but now it's on my list of must-dos.

I'll report back after I make the short trip to Corona del Mar. Their website is great and informative. I like the look of the utensils:The menu looks pretty good, too. Check it out: http://www.crowbarcdm.com

Happy Thanksgiving 2008!

2008-11-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

A Vending Machine for Crows

2008-11-15T21:11:00.002-08:00

Why not let crows pitch in and become part of the work force? Josh Klein built a vending machine that delivers peanuts to the smart crows who drop coins in the slot.

Bernardo Conquistador Tray by Ibride

2008-11-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

Who wouldn't want their tea and crumpets delivered on this tray? It's a little out of my price range, so I won't be finding one in my lap anytime soon, But it is fun to learn about the company that makes it:

Ibride, pronounced "e-breed," is created by a French family in the south of France. The archival imagery is inspired by their travels as well as their local environment. The word 'ibride' itself is a play on words meaning 'hybrid', and the pieces combine a dual purpose of serving as sturdy and functional trays, but more often they are used as decorative art to accent home decor. Laminate decorative serving tray with wood core. Measures 25" x 17" their site: www.ibride.fr

Sometimes I come across products featuring crows and I just can't help myself. I thought this was particularly cool. if you want one, they are available at many shops on the Internet--just search for "IBride Bernardo tray."

Happy Halloween

2008-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Black Birds

2008-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

These Black Birds are made by Carol Reynolds. What personality. I love the idea of the mask on some of the figures. I look forward to seeing them in person at the Artistic License Fair in Costa Mesa at the end of this month.

Quote

2008-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows."

--Rev.Henry Ward Beecher (mid 1800's)

Catherine Ledner's Animals

2008-10-07T09:48:00.001-07:00

This corvid is from a series by Catherine Ledner. I love her animals. Check them out at www.CatherinesAnimals.com .

If you are in Los Angeles stop by the tinlark gallery and see her work in person. (Reception Oct 11.)

click below for more crows!

:::www.crowcentric.com:::

Review of Animal Magnetism

2008-09-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

YAY! The exhibition got a nice review by Greg Stacy in the Sep 25 edition of the OC Weekly.
http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-09-25/culture/animal-magnetism-orange-county-center-for-contemporary-art-santa-ana/ I've excerpted the paragraph about crows:

There are also a couple of surprisingly lovely crow-themed pieces. Terry Davitt Powell’s Wafting is a black smear of beauty, capturing one of these scavengers in the midst of wild, sinister flight. Dale Clifford’s Shame of the Son takes an entirely different approach, a linocut depicting two feuding crows (presumably father and child) with the lush, golden browns and elegant, undulating lines of Art Nouveau. Crows have never looked better . . . although one does wonder if these belligerent little bastards really merit such loving treatment. (Maybe chickens can be sweet- or sour-natured, but I’ve yet to meet a crow who wasn’t a total asshole.)

What is it with people and their attitudes about crows? I'm very glad, though, that he was able to overcome his personal feelings about them in order to appreciate the artwork.

Crows make monkeys out of chimps in mental test

2008-09-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Those smart crows are at it again:

..................................

Crows seem to be able to use causal reasoning to solve a problem, a feat previously undocumented in any other non-human animal, including chimps.

Alex Taylor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and his team presented six New Caledonian crows with a series of "trap-tube" tests.

A choice morsel of food was placed in a horizontal Perspex tube, which also featured two round holes in the underside, with Perspex traps below.

For most of the tests, one of the holes was sealed, so the food could be dragged across it with a stick and out of the tube to be eaten. The other hole was left open, trapping the food if the crows moved it the wrong way.

Three of the crows solved the task consistently, even after the team modified the appearance of the equipment. This suggested that these crows weren't using arbitrary features – such as the colour of the rim of a hole – to guide their behaviour. Instead they seemed to understand that if they dragged food across a hole, they would lose it.
To investigate further, the team presented the crows with a wooden table, divided into two compartments. A treat was at the end of each compartment, but in one, it was positioned behind a rectangular trap hole. To get the snack, the crow had to consistently choose to retrieve food from the compartment without the hole.

A recent study of great apes found they could not transfer success at the trap-tube to success at the trap-table. The three crows could, however.

"They seem to have some kind of concept of a hole that isn't tied to purely visual features, and they can use this concept to figure out the novel problem," Taylor says. "This is the most conclusive evidence to date for causal reasoning in an animal."

Three of the crows did fail at both tasks, however. The team plans further work to investigate why.
.........................................
17 September 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Emma Young

........................................

BTW, Perspex = Plexiglass (acrylic resin)

Animal Magnetism update

2008-08-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

Dale Clifford

Shame of the Son

linocut and woodcut

18" x 12"

Yesterday I took Wafting to the OCCCA for the exhibition, which opens Saturday. I also picked up a show catalog. How great to be able to see the work and read about the artists before the exhibition. One of my favorites is the print above by Dale Clifford. I look forward to seeing his work in person.
The exhibition catalog is available on Lulu.com. You can read the juror's statement and preview the first few images. You'll have to search for the title, Animal Magnetism.

If you do get to read the statement by Mat Gleason, the juror, tell me why you think he didn't take care of the stinky, mangy, flea-bitten bitch instead of turning her over to Animal Control and then going to the pound the next day to get a "better" one? He was going to get a new mate for his dog--but his dog liked the one he turned in....

Roving Bandit

2008-08-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Dale Clifford sent a few more images for our enjoyment. Roving Bandit, above, and Unnatural Selection, below. Thanks, Dale!

Animal Magnetism

2008-08-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

One of my pieces, Wafting, has been accepted for an exhibition at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. Come to the reception! Say hi!

................................................................................................

Animal Magnetism

An all-media national juried exhibition

September 4 to 27, 2008

Reception: Saturday,

September 6th, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm

.................................................................................................

OCCCA, 117 North Sycamore, Santa Ana CA 92701

Crows Never Forget a Face

2008-08-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Friend or Foe? Crows Never Forget a Face, It Seems
The New York Times
By Michelle Nijhuis

Crows and their relatives — among them ravens, magpies and jays — are renowned for their intelligence and for their ability to flourish in human-dominated landscapes. That ability may have to do with cross-species social skills. In the Seattle area, where rapid suburban growth has attracted a thriving crow population, researchers have found that the birds can recognize individual human faces.

John M. Marzluff, a wildlife biologist at the University of Washington, has studied crows and ravens for more than 20 years and has long wondered if the birds could identify individual researchers. Previously trapped birds seemed more wary of particular scientists, and often were harder to catch. “I thought, ‘Well, it’s an annoyance, but it’s not really hampering our work,’ ” Dr. Marzluff said. “But then I thought we should test it directly.”

To test the birds’ recognition of faces separately from that of clothing, gait and other individual human characteristics, Dr. Marzluff and two students wore rubber masks. He designated a caveman mask as “dangerous” and, in a deliberate gesture of civic generosity, a Dick Cheney mask as “neutral.” Researchers in the dangerous mask then trapped and banded seven crows on the university’s campus in Seattle.

In the months that followed, the researchers and volunteers donned the masks on campus, this time walking prescribed routes and not bothering crows.

The crows had not forgotten. They scolded people in the dangerous mask significantly more than they did before they were trapped, even when the mask was disguised with a hat or worn upside down. The neutral mask provoked little reaction. The effect has not only persisted, but also multiplied over the past two years. Wearing the dangerous mask on one recent walk through campus, Dr. Marzluff said, he was scolded by 47 of the 53 crows he encountered, many more than had experienced or witnessed the initial trapping. The researchers hypothesize that crows learn to recognize threatening humans from both parents and others in their flock.

The reaction to one of the dangerous masks was “quite spectacular,” said one volunteer, Bill Pochmerski, a retired telephone company manager who lives near Snohomish, Wash. “The birds were really raucous, screaming persistently,” he said, “and it was clear they weren’t upset about something in general. They were upset with me." (for more click on the link above to visit the New York Times site.)

VIDEO: Crows Can Recognize Faces" from the upcoming Canadian documentary by Susan Fleming, "A Murder of Crows."

RASCAL

2008-08-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

I like the work of Sage Vaughn.

On his website, you can choose between

W I L D L I F E

and

W I L D L I V E S

www.sagevaughn.com

Raven

2008-06-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Artist: Mark Gleason

Site: www.markgleason.net

Raven

oil on canvas

Strange Angels

oil on canvas

18 x 18

(I was introduced to Mark Gleason's work by The Mincing Mockingbird.

Thanks, Mincie!)

Skull Nesting Box

2008-06-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's not a crow. But it's cool.

After watching the Blue Tits fly in and out a few times, I started to imagine how cool one of these would look in my garden. Further searching and I'm in skull heaven!

The creator of "Rebirdy," Stefan Gross, lives in the Netherlands. What a mind.

Rebirdy
...just as the skull of old Wan-Shi will once become a home for new life ...
(tibetan wisdom, 5th century)

:: :: :: :: ::

Caw, Caw

2008-05-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

My favorite noise is

any sound that comes out of a crow's beak.

Hmmm. How many people would give that answer to the question: "What is your favorite noise?"

This is the reply of Father Bill Moore, a resident artist in the Pomona Arts Colony in Southern California. I like his work and am looking forward to meeting him at one of the Second Saturday Art Walks.

It was interesting that I came upon that bit of text today, as one of last year's brood has a particularly rough-sounding caw. He is the only crow of the group who is distinctive to me, and this morning when I pulled in the driveway he flew to the lamppost and began his rusty call. So I brought him some peanuts.

Listen to a variety of crows :

www.crows.net:

caw! caw!

ANYTHING GOES: A Small Works Show

2008-05-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

at The Folk Tree

May 31 - June 28, 2008

opening reception: Saturday, May 31

2:00 - 6 :00 pm

217 South Fair Oaks Avenue

Pasadena, California 91105

I am happy to say that my work will be included in the next exhibition at The Folk Tree in Pasadena, California. This show celebrates many of the artists The Folk Tree has featured throughout the last twenty-two years, as well as some who are exhibiting there for the first time.

Approximately one hundred works of art are on view by as many artists. Each individual is invited to submit one piece. And, “almost anything” goes. Subject matter, style, and medium are open. As the title of the show implies, the only restriction relates to size. Two-dimensional pieces must not exceed 12” x 12”, three-dimensional 10” x 10” x 10”. The number and variety of pieces create a wonderfully eclectic visual experience.

Southern California has a vast and diverse artistic community. ANYTHING GOES: A Small Works Show is a tribute to this impressive group.

Commuters

Terry Davitt Powell

Blind Thought

Jacqueline Marks

Untitled

Dinah Sargeant

Here Comes the Bus

Sumi Foley

Red Bird, Blue Bird

Suzanne Saul

The Folk Tree is located near the heart of Old Pasadena at 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave. Gallery hours are: M-W, 11-6; Th-Sat, 10-6; Sun, 12-5. For more information, contact Gail Mishkin at 626/793-4828 or The Folk Tree at 626/795-8733.

Colossal Crow

2008-05-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it? There's a website listing the largest things in the world...so of course they list the World's Largest Crow. This fiberglass sculpture can be found in Belgrade, Minnesota. The giant Corvid perches on a 31-foot-long branch which is mounted on a 25-foot-tall pedestal. Total height: 43 feet.

click below for more crows!

:::www.crowcentric.com:::

The American Crow

2008-05-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

"Okay, so where are the crows?" you are wondering. CrowCentric certainly seems to suggest that this blog would have something to do with crows. So enough with the backyard birds and on to the main topic.

I am a painter and printmaker. My work is focused on acknowledging the adaptation made by the wild animals and birds to the changes we have made in the landscape. The Peregrine Falcon nesting on big city skyscrapers is an excellent example.

I have taken a lot of photographs of crows to use as reference in my paintings and prints. I've looked around the Internet and book stores for information on crows. After having to go to so many places, I thought that it might be a good idea to create a website as a central (centric) location for information, artwork, links, books, dealing with the crow. I would appreciate input from one and all. Please visit my websites. Artwork is found at www.tdpowell.com and www.CrowCentric.com is the central spot for crow info.
Here's one of the photos from the "Juveniles" series on CrowCentric.com. It was the end of summer, the juvies had become a little too aggressive in taking nuts from mom and dad and one of them got put in it's place!

Peregrine Falcons

2008-04-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

My artwork is about acknowledging the way that wild creatures have adapted to the changes humans have made in the environment. I often use Peregrine Falcons as an example. Many cities now have Peregrine Falcons as yearly residents as they nest on skyscrapers. In many cities, organizations are supporting them by providing a safe nesting situation.

In Rochester, New York, the Kodak company built a nest box many years ago to accommodate a male and female falcon. They focused a camera on the box and every minute or so it took a picture and you could view it on the Internet. It was so exciting to watch as the eggs were laid and then hatched. I watched as the parents brought food and then the young ones fledged. (The scientist that monitor all of this also remove the eyas (chicks) and band them.

Mariah and Kaver are the current pair. Mariah has finished laying and has five eggs this year. The eggs are due to hatch soon. This would be a great time to keep an eye on them and watch their intimate behavior in the nest box.

Technology and experience has helped to upgrade the experience for both human and Peregrine. There are many camera views now and you get a new image every 30 seconds.

Kodak has launched a separate site for the FalconCam and you can either peek at the nest box or read up on the history and go through the pictures of last year. Take a look! Maybe you'll be there when the first chick breaks through the egg...

http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/mainView.php

Western Bluebird

2008-04-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

I'm going back a few weeks to the overwintering birds that were common here for a few months. One of the prettiest ones and a big time visitor at the Bird Spa, was the Western Bluebird. This small thrush is a more common sight in parks and green fields, so I was surprised to see them hanging out in suburbia. Turns out they like the olives on the tree or ground and are particularly fond of the fruit of the palm trees. My yard can provide both. And after feeding, a nice bath in a fountain designed just for birds

and then dry in the sun on the branches of the persimmon tree.

"Endangered Species" at The Folk Tree

2008-04-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to be included in an exhibit at The Folk Tree in Pasadena, California:

ENDANGERED SPECIES

a group exhibition honoring and acknowledging our vulnerable natural world,

is on view at The Folk Tree

from April 19 – May 17, 2008

Empirical evidence that the world’s natural balance is severely compromised is hard to refute at this point. Thus, it is an especially critical time to draw attention to nature’s wonders, to acknowledge its weaknesses, and to work toward change. Endangered Species includes artwork addressing the following related themes:

1) extinct/endangered/threatened species;
2) nature’s beauty and fragility;

3) humanity’s impact on the environment; and

4) contemporary threats to the “ethnosphere,” a term coined by Wade Davis, explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, and noted Harvard educated anthropologist and ethnobotanist.

Gail Mishkin, who curated the exhibit, asked the artists for coments to accompany the work. This is one of my pieces:

Drizzle

Terry Davitt Powell

Crows form a lifelong family unit and know each other’s names and preferences. When a lone crow happens upon abundant food, he or she doesn’t quickly and selfishly gobble it up. He announces loudly and clearly to call the rest of the family to feast with him.

Work by other artists in the exhibit:

Green is Good-Green is Necessary

Joel Nakamura

Good Hair Day or Return of the Bees

Ulla Anobile

The Consumer

Suzanne Saul

Journey

Jacqueline Marks

Combfish

Linda Jaques

Like Fleas on a Rabid Dog

Brown Pelican

Sacred Lands

Leatherback Turtle

Cedar Waxwings in the Pecan Tree

2008-04-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was talking with my brother, Rick, about the progress of the birds on their migration route through his backyard. Yes, he bought his current home with the knowledge that he was going to be placed well to photograph wild birds on their way north or south. He built a beautiful little stream/burbling brook that would be just right for bird bathing.

(As he was building the water feature for the birds, a bunch of Mud Daubers helped themselves to the plentiful mud that lead to yet another series of photographs. Check them and the birds out at Rick's website: RickDavitt.com.)

So, anyway, I was telling him I thought he may have missed the Cedar Waxwings. They were here, in Redlands, most of the winter, but I hadn't seen any for several weeks. But when I went out to pick up the evening paper, I heard their little tee-tee calls and spotted movement in the large pecan tree across the street. Sure enough. They were hard to spot.

Having the zoom lens and Photoshop certainly helped to locate them in the foliage.

Maybe they are on their way to Rick's house in Huntington Beach. I'll let you know if they make it.

White-crowned Sparrow Bath

2008-04-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today was a slow day at the bird spa. The only visitor (while I happened to be looking out the window) was a lone White-crowned Sparrow. I had the window open, so he could hear the shutter click sound which accounts for his wary look. It's not a usual sound for the birds who visit the garden.