Celebrating John J. Audubon

Wildlife artist John James Audubon was born on this day in 1785.  His paintings and descriptions of the birds of America are familiar to and appreciated by birders everywhere.  While he is one of the most famous avian illustrators, he is not one of the founders of the Audubon Society.  His name was chosen because his work inspired the organization's efforts to protect birds and their habitats. 

Some links we'll be using today to learn about the man and his life's work:

Enchanted Learning's Audubon page and coloring pages of several of his paintings.

PBS American Masters

New York Historical Society's Audubon's Aviary exhibit mp3s and images

The National Gallery of Art's information and images

Other resources:

The Boy Who Drew Birds, by Jacqueline Davies with illustrations by Melissa Sweet

Audubon's Birds of American Coloring Book

John James Audubon, Wildlife Artist, by Peter Anderson

Birds of America, by John J. Audubon

John James Audubon's Journal of 1826

John James Audubon: Drawn from Nature (2006) on Netflix Streaming

Good finds of the week

1. Stellarium: an incredible, free software program for a variety of operating systems, that turns your computer screen into a planetarium.  We've had lots of fun playing with it this week, especially since cloudy skies have kept us from stargazing.  

2. Clay Center Observatory: in Brookline, MA on the campus of Dexter/Southfield schools (where JFK went to school).  This Saturday from three until ten p.m. the center is celebrating Astronomy Day, and every Tuesday night in the spring and fall (weather-permitting) the observatory has free public telescope viewings.  The center has an LED-lit constellation court, plus a moon court and a sun court to check out.  Pictures from the center's website here.  Short video from our field trip below.

3. Inside Birding: a series of web videos to help hone your birdwatching skills, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds website.  So far, four episodes are online.