When Birds Fly South

 

More than anything else, it is the quiet backyard and the long shadows that achingly signal the coming of autumn here in New Jersey. As the Sun moves southward, birds follow. Most of my backyard birds are gone though a few stragglers remain. I saw a pair of cardinals this afternoon. Not sure if they plan to hang around here for the winter. During spring and summer, I spent a lot of time watching the backyard visitors from my kitchen window and capturing their movements and sounds with my Nikon D7000. I had put makeshift ground level bird baths in several places. I observed the communal (or its lack) spirit in sharing the water bath and was amused to see how the birds perched on the nearby branch to signal to the bird splashing in the water that its time was up. I wasn't the only one observing them. My neighbor's little kitty stalked them too. Even the cat is now huddling inside. 

Just yesterday, nearly three dozen birds descended on my  backyard for a little sip and a dip before resuming their southern journey. It felt like a good omen for the season to come. 

The art work at the top is two sides of a clay tag collaged with a print of an original watercolor I had done of  Red Munia, also known as scarlet finch, a common bird in the Indian sub-continent. Below are a sample of my backyard visitors through the camera lens. 

Enjoy the photos!

Linked to Paint Party Friday. 

Thanks for visiting.

Collage Art: Birds

In many ways, fall and winter are also bird seasons. Nothing signals  the approaching winter as the sight of the birds, shadowy silhouettes against the low sun, making their way to warmer regions. May be, that was why when I wanted to create some new collages for the shop, I chose all bird images from the Graphics Fairy . They are all my favorite birds--peacock, owl and parrot. (Of course, no artwork by an Indian can be complete without including a peacock somewhere.)

The compositions are straight forward and unfussy, letting the color and the beauty of the bird images to shine through. I like the way they have turned out and they are available at my Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting.