BIRD Illustration Project

I did this project because I think the world would be a miserable place without the colour, song, variety and amazing navigation abilities of birds. As I completed my drawing every week, I learned about the issues facing each species, and the overall factors contributing to species endangerment.

Now that I have a series of 52 drawings, I’m looking at new ways to use them for raising conservation awareness. This will include exhibitions, doing design work with conservation and wildlife organizations, and developing products where a portion of the sale proceeds are donated to support these groups.

Please Contact me if you are interested in prints of any bird illustration.

week 52: scarlet macaw

The Scarlet Macaw is included here as a representative of all macaws, many of which are threatened or endangered due to capture of wild birds for the pet market. Many conservation efforts are underway, including Macaw Conservation in Costa Rica, headed by Chris Castles. Click to read about his program.

week 51: trinidad piping guan

Locally known as the Pawi, the piping guan is now restricted to a small area in NE Trinidad. A study of the remaining population and recovery program was initiated in 2005 under the name “Project Pawi”. Read about it below.

week 50: hooded grebe

The Hooded Grebe lives in remote areas of Patagonia, and was only discovered 40 years ago. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of its population decline. Click the button to learn more.

week 49: blacked-winged starling

Also known as the black-winged Mynah, this native of Java is in need of protected forests areas to prevent extinction. Successful captive breeding has been established by the Cikananga Conservation Breeding Centre in Indonesia, but there is a long way to go.

week 48: indian vulture

Like most vulture species, the Indian vulture is critically endangered due to extensive poisoning by drugs in animal carcasses - notably the anti-inflammatory cattle drug diclofenac (now banned in India). Click below to learn about the threats to world vulture populations and plans for saving these essential birds.

week 47: mexican red-headed parrot

Many parrot species are threatened in their native habitats due to hunting for sale as pets. All is not lost for the red-headed parrot, however, as escaped birds are establishing feral populations in warm US cities. Click below to read about their comeback!

week 46: golden white-eye

These birds are unique to the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific. They currently survive on two of the islands that have not been infested with the introduced Brown Tree Snake.

week 45 javan green magpie

Crticially endangered in its native Java, these green magpies were successfully bred at the UK’s Chester Zoo in 2016. Read about the new breeding program below.

week 44 visayan hornbill

Native and endemic to the Philippines, this hornbill lives in primary forest and is threatened by hunting and deforestation. The population decline is very rapid, but there is some hope that the birds may benefit from an international effort being organized to reduce poaching of the Helmeted Hornbill. Click below to learn more.

week 43: Ross’s gull

Ross’s gull is a very rare seabird. Until recently, only 1% of its known population could be accounted for in the winter months. In 2015, several birds were tagged with GPS tracking devices, leading to the discovery of their wintering grounds in the Labrador Sea. Click the button to read about this discovery.

week 42: eared quetzal

This native of Mexico has expanded its range north into Arizona in recent years. This is highly unusual, but scientists believe that this colourful member of the trogon family is migrating to new areas in search of suitable habitat.

week 41: least bittern

This is another wetland bird that is threatened in Canada by draining of swampland breeding areas. Least bitterns nest among cattail reeds and are surprisingly agile with their long yellow legs!

week 40: aplomado falcon

The last known wild breeding pair of Aplomados was in New Mexico in 1952. Beginning in the 1980’s, the Peregrine Fund has bred over 1500 chicks in captivity and released them to re-establish a breeding population in the American SW. The Aplomado Falcon is still endangered, as a large percentage of its native grassland habitat continues to be converted for farming. Click below to learn more.

week 39: prothonotary warbler

This bright yellow warbler is named after a group of Catholic official who wore yellow robes! Prothonotary warbler numbers have declined steadily since the 1960’s due to swampland habitat loss, but recent studies on their migration routes are providing more information on effective conservation strategies.

week 38: sage thrasher

Still common in some areas of western sagebrush, but numbers are declining as the habitat is cleared. This bird is a great singer and the male will carry on singing for many minutes at a time.

week 37: crested caracara

This large falcon lives in the Southern US and Mexico and is the only falcon that builds its own nest! Its breeding range and habitat are being affected by climate change - one was spotted in Alberta for the first time this past summer.

week 36: mexican spotted owl

In 2004, the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated 8.6 million acres of lands in the American SW as critical habitat for the Mexican spotted owl. Numbers of this large owl are carefully monitored each year by the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and appear to be increasing; but there is still a long way to go!

week 35: bermuda petrel

Rediscovered after being thought extinct for 300 years, small colonies of the Bermuda petrel are slowly growing thanks to many years of effort by David Wingate and his team. Click below to read about the project.

week 34: yellow-shouldered blackbird

Another bird endemic to the Puerto Rican Islands, this blackbird has been on the endangered species list since 1976. Threatened by habitat loss and nest predation by introduced species (rats, cats and cowbirds), critical habitat has been established for the yellow shouldered blackbird on three of the islands.

week 33 blue-eyed ground dove

POPULATION: 20?

Amazing that this dove was rediscovered after being thought extinct since 1940! The existing population is tiny but it's now protected and on a newly created land preserve in its native Brazil. Click below to read the story.

week 32 puerto rican parrot

POPULATION: 60 IN THE WILD, 400 IN CAPTIVITY

After Puerto Rico was hit by hurricanes in the fall of 2017, a whole flock of these critically endangered parrots disappeared, leaving the wild population at only 60 birds. Over a million Puerto Rican parrots used to live on the islands in the 19th century, but were wiped out by deforestation, poaching and competition from introduced species. The good news is that the captive breeding program in Rio Abajo continues to be successful.

week 31 everglade snail kite

Living almost entirely on apple snails in the Florida wetlands, this bird of prey is in trouble due to drainage of much of its habitat, and reduced water quality that means less snails for food. The Audubon Society is helping with recovery for the Snail Kite by restoration of habitat in the Everglades, and at Lake Okeechobee, a key nesting site.

week 30 SW WIllow flycatcher

"Southwestern Willow Flycatchers are small grayish-green songbirds once found commonly along rivers and streams in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Today, the last 500 to 1000 breeding pairs of this subspecies struggle to survive in regions where 90-95% of their historic habit has been lost and where they are beset with challenges from predation, nest parasitism, disturbance, and further habitat loss. In California, in particular, we’ve seen important populations of this bird decline."

Quote from the Audubon Society of California says it all.

week 29: masked bobwhite quail

Found only in the Sonoran Desert of the SW United States, the masked bobwhite was declared extinct after habitat destruction by cattle ranching. Very small groups were later found on ranches in Mexico, but this bird continues to hover on the brink, and as of 2018, exists only in captive breeding programs.

week 28: andean flamingo

This is the rarest flamingo in the world! It lives in the high Andes of South America, feeding in high salt or alkaline lakes and gathering in large flocks. The population of Andean Flamingos has been reduced to one third by egg collection for food, and more recently by borax mining activities that destroy its habitat. Efforts are underway to establish reserves and ban egg collecting.

week 27: barn owl

While the Barn Owl isn't endangered over much of its range, in Ontario, Canada there are only a few pairs left. Hundreds of nest boxes have been built through a massive volunteer effort, but it turns out that loss of native tallgrass prairie is the key for survival for these owls. 

week 26: red knot

The amazing Red Knot is a shorebird that migrates from the Arctic all the way to to southern tip of South America - a round trip of 19,000 miles a year. Global warming and more acidic oceans have led to a drop in population of 75% since 2000. Learn the whole story in a fascinating article by Deborah Cramer by clicking the button below.

week 25: blue finch

This little bird lives almost entirely in Brazil, and the males are a beautiful cobalt blue. They live and breed in open grassland areas known as cerrrados, which are becoming fragmented due to development.

week 24: marbled murrelet

The marbled murrelet is a seabird with the unusual habit of nesting in old growth forest of the Pacific Northwest. More selective logging practices can help preserve the essential habitat for these birds to continue breeding.

week 23: juan fernandez firecrown

This hummingbird lives only on two small islands off the west coast of Chile. Its numbers are shrinking due to habitat destruction by introduced species such as rabbits and non-native plants, competition from other hummer species, and predation by domestic cats.

week 22: short-tailed albatross

Current population: 1000. Number killed for their feathers around 1900: 5 MILLION. The short-tailed albatross was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1951 on a couple of islands in the Pacific, south of Japan, where it now breeds.

week 21: White-necked crow

Another bird from Hispaniola that is losing out due to habitat loss and persecution by farmers. There are plans to reintroduce the White-Necked Crow to Puerto Rico (where it's already extinct) but this plan may be compromised due to the fragility of that ecosystem and the critically endangered status of other birds there.

week 20: guam kingfisher

Endemic to the tiny Pacific island of Guam, this bird is extinct in the wild due to the accidental introduction of brown tree snakes shortly after World War 2. One hundred and forty birds are in a Species Survival captive breeding program in zoos and aquaria across North America. Read more at the links below.

week 19: steller's eider

German zoologist and explorer Georg Steller discovered this eider on an Alaskan expedition in 1741; he also has a sea cow, an eagle, a sea lion and a jay named after him. This smallest of the Eiders lives and breeds in Alaska, but it's numbers are steeply declining for unknown reasons.

week 18: ridgway's hawk

Ridgway's Hawk is endemic to the island of Hispaniola and its numbers are low due to habitat loss and persecution by local farmers, who believe it preys on their poultry. In fact, most of its diet is reptiles and small mammals. A recovery program is underway in the Dominican Republic - read about it by clicking below.

week 17: golden-cheeked warbler

This bird's native habitat is wholly within the state of Texas; they love tall stands of juniper-oak woodland the best. Unfortunately this is land that is often cleared for development, and birds like the Golden-Cheeked Warbler are particularly vulnerable because of their limited range. Listen and learn about this fantastic singer by clicking the button below.

week 16: ashy storm petrel

Ashy storm petrels are found only on the string of islands off the coast of California and Mexico. They are unusual in that they feed at night, scooping small fish from the ocean. Their nocturnal habit means they are disturbed from feeding by lights from fishing boats; like many island species, they're also threatened by introduced predators such as cats and foxes.

week 15: florida scrub jay

Scrub jays are intelligent birds that collect food when it's plentiful and cache it in hundreds of locations for winter. And they remember where 80% of their acorns are hidden! The Florida Scrub Jay is endangered due to development on large areas of their natural habitat. Read the Audubon article to learn more.

week 14: piping plover

Piping plovers are rare shore birds, living and breeding along lakes and ocean beaches in the northeastern states. They've become endangered due to habitat loss for development, increased presence of people, dogs, vehicles and predators on beaches, and changing water levels. Click below to learn more.

week 13: sun conure

The Sun Conure is a medium size parrot native to north east South America. It's been such a popular pet that it's now endangered in the wild. However, new protected areas of rain forest in Colombia, Brazil and the Guyanas hold out hope that it will be saved.

week 12: gunnison sage-grouse

This guy is a showman! The males strut around, puff up their chests and make deep burbling sounds to attract the ladies. Gunnison Sage-Grouse were only identified as a separate species in 2000, and live on a very restricted area of grassland in Colorado and Utah. The estimated population is around 5000 birds. See more and hear the males in action by clicking below.

week 11: whooping crane

The current population of these huge birds is around 600. This is a huge improvement from the all-time low of 15 in the 1940's, but is still a far cry from the original 20,000 Whooping Cranes originally endemic to North America. These birds are now protected, along with their breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park; however the captive breeding program in the US was closed at the end of 2017 due to its funding being cut by the Trump administration.

week 10: ivory-billed woodpecker

The largest wood pecker in North America, the Ivory-billed was thought to be extinct after drainage of swamplands in the Southern US. In the past few years, several reported but unconfirmed sightings have fuelled debate - you can read about it at the Audubon website, link below.

week 9: maui parrotbill

The Maui Parrotbill is another of the Hawaiian Islands' endemic honeycreepers, now restricted to a 20 mile square range on the east side of Maui. It uses its specialized beak to peel away tree bark and eat the insects underneath. The good news is that the American Bird Conservancy is working with the Hawai'i Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, and the Zoological Society of San Diego to establish a second population of Maui Parrotbills from wild, captive-reared and translocated birds.

week 8: ruby-throated hummingbird

This tiny bird migrates south in the winter - 550 miles in one go across the Gulf of Mexico! Many Ruby-throated hummingbirds find safe winter habitat on shade coffee farms in Central and South America where the tree canopy is left intact. They are still quite common in North America, but many are killed by another threat to birds: window collisions.  Click the link to learn more about the ruby-throated hummer, and how you can help by buying Bird-Friendly Coffee.

week 7: burrowing owl

The burrowing owl was very common in its summer breeding grounds until the mid-1900s, when modern agricultural practices took over prairie farmlands. By 1980 there were none left in British Columbia and less than 1000 pairs survive today in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Click the link to learn more about these cool little birds, why they're different from other owls, and what is being done to help.

week 6: cerulean warbler

This gorgeous blue warbler breeds in Eastern deciduous forests of the US and Canada, and then migrates to several South American countries for the winter. Habitat loss is its biggest issue in both regions. Click the link to the American Bird Conservancy below to learn about the new recovery program, and hear the warbler sing!

week 5: roseate tern

These beautiful marine coastal birds were hunted in the 19th century for their long white tail plumes, decimating the population. In Canada they nest along the coast of Nova Scotia and face new threats to their environment: habitat loss, climate change and predation. Expansion plans of the US Ocean Energy Management Bureau  include building new wind generators along the Eastern coast: another serious threat to birds in general.

week 4: i'iwi (scarlet honeycreeper)

The I’iwi is endemic to Hawaii and look at this colour! There are no hummingbirds in the Hawaiian islands and honeycreepers fill that niche, with their bills perfectly adapted to the shape of the flowers they drink from.

The bad news is that of 50 honeycreeper species originally found in Hawaii, 33 are already extinct due to mosquito-borne diseases and invasive species introduced when humans arrived. The I’wi survives for now and a recovery program is in place.

Week 3: king rail

Population: Declining.

Look at this cool guy! It lives in freshwater marshes and eats small crustaceans and fish. Unfortunately it's almost gone from its summer breeding grounds in Ontario due to loss of wetland habitat, and is classified as threatened throughout the U.S.

week 2 : kirtland's warbler

Population 5000.

This warbler’s jack pine forest breeding habitat in Southern Ontario and Michigan now exists only in managed tracts. The Kirtland Warbler Recovery Plan began in 1976 and has so far brought the population back to around 5000. To hear the male sing, click below!

week 1: california condor

Population: 500

In 1987 there were 27 California Condors left in the world, due to hunting, DDT and lead poisoning when the birds ate dead animals that hat been killed with lead shot. All of the birds were brought into captivity and an intensive breeding program over the last 30 years has raised their numbers to around 500. Two hundred have been released back into the wild; if you’re lucky enough to see one of these enormous birds, check out its number tag!