So the 2017 ABA Bird of the Year is one of my favorites--it's a shorebird and a species that was my Utah nemesis bird.  It wasn't for lack of trying, I just seemingly missed the Ruddy Turnstone at every "turn".  So... Anyways, my first Utah Ruddy Turnstone came in 2007--not on the coast or at a beach, but right here in northern Utah.  Imagine having spent a morning hiking around a 12,000' peak looking for White-tailed Ptarmigan.  The hike is a success and as you return to a normal elevation and cell phone coverage, you have a phone full of voicemails.  Birders aware of your current big year attempt want to let you know there's a turnstone at Bear River MBR on the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.  The only problem--you're 5 hours away...

Well, needless to say, I didn't let that stop me, and after a long long drive, I finally nabbed that turnstone--on a mudflat, in a drying out unit of a bird refuge in the desert.  It was a beauty, and the most colorful turnstone I've ever seen.  Check it out here.

Now since then, I of course as with all nemesis birds, have seen more than I ever could've imagined in Utah--and beyond.  I've seen them in Oregon and California, and in Mexico, Panama, and Peru.

The nemesis no more is now a bird I come across several times every year.

With the ABA announcing this clown-faced, flipper of rocks, dweller of beaches, and all around handsome as a devil Ruddy Turnstone as their bird of the year, I decided to design a  print showing my admiration of the bird.



This is going to be limited to 100 prints at each of the following sizes:

8x10 - $15

16x20 - $25

+ $5 S&H anywhere in the lower 48

Either will be a matte finish and come shipped to your door in a protective tube or envelope. If you like turnstones or know a shorebird aficionado, this print is the perfect way to show your admiration for the clown of the beach. You can get yours today through the link below!

Labels: art, merchandise, mwbirdco, shorebirds

Check out this gorgeous piece of sapsucker art from Salt Lake City.  The non-birders who found it sent me a picture of the bird for help identifying it--the grainy cell phone shot looked like it might be a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which is a pretty damn good bird for northern Utah--it would be a county lifer for me.  I've asked the homeowners to let me know if it comes back so I can maybe have a looksie.

But who cares about lifers, or county birds when this bad ass, steel-billed, destroyer of trees can create such an amazing piece of artwork. Organizational chaos.  It's like OCD mixed with ADD.  I love it.  Something about sapsucker drill sites always leave me in awe.

And, if you have a woodpecker wreaking havoc on your trees and want to stop the carnage, don't do what my cousins from the hills would do and resort to a revolver.  That's illegal, and there are more effective, and environmentally friendly ways to deter future destruction:

Woodpecker Control Methods BTYB the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Labels: art, sapsuckers