Ode to Audubon - Snowy Egret

The story

Living in Galveston, Texas I became interested in learning about the shorebirds there by accident. That area is right under a byway for many migratory birds, so birding in that area is taken very seriously. The enthusiasts visiting for that reason rubbed off on me! We also visited the Audubon Museum in Key West, and I was fascinated with his life sized watercolors compiled in his famous book, The Birds of America (1827). I have a small portfolio of these prints in my own collection. I wanted to pay homage to him and recreate these in my unique way, in paper! The pieces in this series are largely the same composition and colors as the originals by Audubon. His writings give great detail about his discoveries on each bird, their habitat, eating, breeding, and migratory habits. Any combination of the five pieces in this series makes an interesting suite for any coastal bird lover!

“Their flight is light, undetermined as it were, yet well sustained, and performed by regular flappings, as in other birds of the tribe. When they have arrived at their destination, they often go to considerable distances to feed during the day, regularly returning at the approach of night to their roosts on the low trees and bushes bordering the marshes, swamps, and ponds. They are very gentle at this season, and at all periods keep in flocks when not disturbed. At the approach of the breeding season, many spend a great part of the day at their roosting places, perched on the low trees principally growing in the water, when every now and then they utter a rough guttural sort of sigh, raising at the same moment their beautiful crest and loose recurved plumes, curving the neck, and rising on their legs to their frill height, as if about to strut on the branches.” John James Audubon