*handled with appropriate state and federal permits for banding and biological research*

Ah, those beautiful primaries…wait, no, not THOSE kinds of primaries, you juvenile Black Cuckooshrike! It's the US Presidential Election Primaries!! So get out there & VOTE!!! 🇺🇸 ✔ 🗳 #birdnerd #birdjokes #RockTheVote #Vote2020 #Primaries2020 #SuperTuesday #VOTE #ivoted #cuckooshrike #shrike #birds #birdringing #birdbanding (All handling & ringing/banding of birds is done by experienced biologists, under the appropriate research permits!) (at Nature's Valley, South Africa) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9SAaxsgoN3/?igshid=s2e72bqa0oam

Hey! Sorry I haven’t been posting this week. I’m at my grandma’s house in Eastern Oregon. Tomorrow, I’ll be doing something I’ve dreamed about since second grade: going bird banding! Bird banding is the process of catching wild birds and attaching metal bands to their legs, so that the migration patterns of birds can be tracked and their populations can be monitored. It’s absolutely crucial to bird conservation. I’ve been invited to tag along with the professor of Ornithology at Eastern Oregon University at her banding station tomorrow. I’m so excited! I don’t know how much photography I’ll get to do, but definitely watch my story tomorrow. I’ll be getting up at 3:30 AM. 😱😱😱 Wish me some good birds (and the strength to get up at such an ungodly hour 😁). . Until I get back to painting here’s some serious hawk sketches and one not so serious. . . . . #bird #birding #birb #birdbanding #art #birdsofprey #artwork #artist #artistsoninstagram #pencildrawing #drawing #sketch #sketchbook #myart (at La Grande, Oregon)

To focus my final project more, I divided it into three regions, Northeast, Southeast, Southern Florida. The first three images are from the Northeast. I also decided to choose animals that are moving around in the fall for one reason or another. This Sharp Shinned Hawk was one captured on a mountain for banding purposes. It was spectacular to see a bird like this so close up! The habitat shot is what the hawk watch overlooks. Truly amazing watching migrating raptors. #bird #photo #photoproject #images #landscape #portrait #sharpshinnedhawk #hawk #birdsofprey #project #mountain #birdbanding

Bird banding is not only beneficial to bird health, bird populations, migration and biology, but it also gives you a chance to look at birds you never get to see up-close, like this American tree sparrow (Spizella arborea). Lovely birds! #birdbanding #treesparrow #ornithology #birding #cle (at Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Nature Center)

*handled with appropriate state and federal permits, captured and released for banding research*

*handled with appropriate state and federal permits for research*

Beautiful Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) female! The fuzzy bristle feathers that cover their nostrils prevent them from breathing in sawdust as they search for insects in tree bark. #naturalselection #downywoodpecker #birdbanding #cle (at Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Nature Center)