Building a Better Bird

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!

detail, wire woven bird

Frigate Bird, Dry Tortugas, 2012