Knowing full well that I can't outdo Mother Nature, I'm still weaving a bird shape, inspired by the lockers and drawers full of these little jewels of nature at the U of M Ruthven Museum of Natural History. The U of M museum hosts 2/3 of the world's species of birds in its ornithology collection. I am always in awe when the head ornithologist, Janet Hinshaw, and grad student Sara Cole open a locker and pull out a drawer. The colors! The sizes! The adaptations!

With that in mind, check out the photo of the Frigate Bird below my wire bird. I took the snapshot at Dry Tortugas National Park in March 2012. This beauty just soared on the thermals all day long above the pre-Civil War era fort on the Island - Fort Jefferson. With a 7-foot wingspan, imagine how much wire that would take to make!