52 Small Birds

Wood warblers are among the most sought-after of the spring migrants. The small, colorful birds provide motivation for thousands of birders from throughout the world to travel to locations both popular and obscure. 52 Small Birds describes the eight year quest of a bird artist to photograph and paint the 52 breeding warblers of the United States. Comfortably retired and enjoying his passion as an artist, the author was in his 60s when he discovered the joys and challenges of birding. His desire-perhaps more rightly described as a fixation-to document warblers led to 11 trips to eight different states, which are described in narration, journal sketches, photographs, and paintings. This narrative relates how the process of searching for, photographing, and painting birds both enhanced and deepened the author's connection to the natural world.