This is a subpage of Birding Life List
Out of a possible 50 birds on this list, I’ve painted 5.
This page is set aisde for paintings of birds that I first sighted in 2020 or 2021. These being the “pandemic years”, again there was no travel (except for a bit around New England). Still. this was a period of great leaps forward in my birding due to increased consistency (I went out nearly every day) as well as enticing my partner to join me. They’re a natural birder with a great ear (compared to my hearing loss), so going out with my partner is almost always more fruitful than going out alone.
92. Carolina Wren
It’s hard to believe that I didn’t see this bird until 2020, since it’s become such an old friend over the past 4 years that it seems like one I’ve known forever! Even with my poor hearing, I more frequently hear the Carolina Wren than see it, with its loud, distinctive “Teakettle, teakettle, teakettle” call.
93. Northern Parula
I first saw this cute little warbler in May 2020, flitting around the top of a large maple from the window of my third-floor walkup. I later learned this was a rare treat as they can be hard to find, and especially hard to see from the ground, since they stick to the tops of trees. The day I painted it, four years later, I saw it again in a different maple from the window of a different apartment.
99. Bay-breasted Warbler
A fairly unusual (to me) warbler, one I’ve only seen twice.
101. Magnolia Warbler
A gorgeous warbler first seen in 2020. Although I often have the best luck finding warblers in Mt Auburn Cemetery, the first Magnolia I saw was right in my local park!
130. Pileated Woodpecker
First glimpsed on a trip to Vermont in summer 2021, but only for a fleeting moment. I didn’t really mentally count it until December, when I made a special trip to Walden Pond because someone had seen it there, and I got a nice good look! Exactly two years later, I found (the same one?) in the exact same spot.
In my first attempt at this woodpecker, largely from memory, I didn’t get the distinctive posture right; they anchor their tails against the tree as they peck.