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| Sharptailed Sandpiper - off season colouring blends in so well in the wetlands |
Brown birds in a brown landscape, migratory shorebirds are our most endangered group of birds. Every year they migrate from the shores of Australia and New Zealand to their breeding grounds above the arctic circle in Siberia and Alaska. The remarkable annual circuit that they fly is called the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and it passes through 23 countries.
The Overwintering Project: Mapping Sanctuary seeks to raise awareness for our migratory shorebirds and their habitat by inviting artists to help make them visible.Anyone can join the Overwintering Project.
I am thrilled that Creators Art Space has taken this on as a project . Whilst it was started as a print project Creators has opened up the project to members whose art practice is in other mediums. I am planning a soft sculpture of a sharptailed sandpiper. These amazing little birds travel from Russia to wetlands in south east Asia and Australasia after breeding - at least 5,000 kilometres over roughly seven days!
I made an appointment to visit the Melbourne Museum and was fortunate to be able to see some mounted specimens up close and spend a little time drawing. It was great to be able to see dimensions and form which are next to impossible to get by books and watching in the wild.
I was surprised to see that a couple of specimens had been caught at Lake Tutchewop, Victoria. It was a not far from where I grew up and my sister and I would bike and horse ride there as kids and teens. Brought back memories.
If you are into information like me I found this government site which has some pretty neat information about sharptailed sandpipers in Australia.
Ok - now I better get to work.
Take care all.
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