Finished

Shorebird

12.5" X 24"

Original Oil

Despite the fact that I love birds, I sometimes find myself placing them in broad categories: songbird, shorebird, gull, raptor, LBB (little brown bird). When I take the time to really look at them, it is then I see their amazing beauty.

This is a willet and I admit I had trouble with the i.d. Three of my eastern U.S. bird books had only the winter plumage which is quite different. This bird is from the eastern group of willets which feed along beaches, mudflats, and rocky shores. They breed on barrier islands and along coastal salt marshes, which is exactly where I found this bird.

Now that I have painted this piece, for me a willet is no longer just a shorebird.