Nature Note #113: For the Love of Wood!

As most of you who read regularly can tell, I like to carve wood into folksy likenesses of birds. Considering 90% of my posts consist of birds, birding, bitching about birding, and so forth, this isn't much of a change of pace. However, I'm here to give a summary of how I came to be interested in wood carving and what I've created so far. It started when I was young and had bought one of my first books entitled Duck Hunting by Dick Sternberg and Jeff Simpson. While I've always had an on and off interest in waterfowling, I never really have had the opportunity to go and while I would like to at some point, I am more content to read up on the history and learn about regional decoy styles. The page that caught my eye was the decoy page and ever since, I've had a fascination with the bird in a wooden form.

One of my earliest posts on here was about the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) and how I'd made some folksy looking decoys that I planned to sell for charity. Although they appear in an unfinished manner on the blog back then, I did manage to complete three birds with an adult in winter and breeding plumage, as well as, a juvenile bird.

Photo taken at Heard Pond in 2012

Well that didn't go as planned considering I'm practically unknown in the conservation arena and don't really have any clout to speak of. Instead that opened me up to making other wooden birds mainly for my girlfriend, family, and friends. At first, I didn't really have a style to speak of (and frankly, still don't), but by keeping at it, I created a small Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae), a Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) for a college roommate of mine, and even a partially hollowed out Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) decoy that can float! I've been on a roll ever since.

This was half way through the process when my drawknife was still sharp

Originally supposed to be a crow, I rounded this carving out and it ended up being this instead

 

 

 

The legs are fish hooks with the tips removed

My biggest projects to date have been focused on owls. I adore owls and have loved them ever since I first laid my eyes on a picture of a Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in a bird encyclopedia I had as a small boy. Recently I've taken to drawing a Northern Saw-whet (Aegolius acadiacus) and Boreal Owl (A. funereus) couple in a cutesy style with comically large eyes and a square head for the Saw-whet and lashes and blush marks for the Boreal.

Hermes and Agnes

This January, on a whim, I created probably my favorite personal piece out of a 7x2x2" piece of basswood. It is a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) in a camouflage pose. That really marked the beginning of my interest in expanding my woodworking interests into a possible side venture. While I haven't really gotten anywhere with that the past few months, I hope to at least consider the idea this summer. The owl itself has been well received and I've had at least one or two requests for similar ones. Just before Valentine's Day, I created a second owl for my girlfriend. It was a Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) to commemorate the one spotted in Vermont this winter (we never did get to see it). She was thrilled and it currently sits on her shelf in her room.

As of Tuesday of this week, I have just finished my latest creation for my dad on Father's Day. He's always loved Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) for their graceful form and patience, as well as their artistic arcing necks, plumes, and sharp bills. I like them too, but think their call resembles a smoker's cough. So in a span of two days, I carved, sanded, and painted it with relative ease. I added a wood shaving for the head plumes and being ahead of schedule have the rest of the week open for planning for work and hanging out.

Hopefully I can add more of my creations as I move along in skill and variety of carvings. If any of you are interested in a carving of your own, leave a comment below and we can discuss it further. Thanks all.