Mist of Blue
Anika Shiroor; 8th Grade, Dublin, Ca. “When as if by a call from above it is stirred, We hear the surge of its spiraling trill. And amisting of blue that seeps from its soul, It is the last of a kind, and unbowed”(Francis Stella). Thispoem is describing the luxurious Cerulean Warbler with its spiraling trill and the misting blue is of itsbluish color. From inspiring poets to being a symbol of beauty, freedom and spiritual growth,Cerulean Warbler is one of America’s favorite songbirds.Cerulean Warblers are found in the Americas. They usually breed in thick forests or in mountains likethe Appalachian Mountains and the northern Andes where they usually make their nests. When theymigrate, these birds like tropical forests or brush. During the winter they rest in the forests andmountains. The male Cerulean Warbler has a cerulean neck with the same color down its sides.Females are a similar but more dusky green color mixed with the cerulean. According to nps.gov,“The Cerulean Warbler is important to the ecosystem because they eat insects which can beconsidered as forest pests. By the removal of some forest pests like the cankerworm, caterpillarsand moth species”. Their diet mainly consists of insects found in their habitat. The population ofCerulean Warblers has actually declined, “by an estimated 1.84% per year between 1966 and 2019(amounting to a cumulative decline of 63% over that period), according to the North AmericanBreeding Bird Survey” allaboutbirds.org claims.These species represent a lot of things that are important to the human growth of having a bettermindset. Cerulean Warblers, and Warblers in general, symbolize a deep meaning for peace,optimism, and the cycles of life, inspiring an appreciation for the better part of life. A warbler issomeone who warbles. A warble is singing softly while changing notes such as a trill or tweet. Mostof the time this word identifies or relates to a bird therefore giving the name warbler. The first part ofthe name comes from its beautiful tealish coat. Apart from its spiritual importance it also has aphysical importance. Because of their diet they actually also manage to keep their forest clean. Thisbird actually gets rid of forest pests and doesnt let them overpopulate. This is important to theecosystem because if those insects did overpopulate they would cause a decline in other species.It was easy to choose this bird for my art submission since the bird’s natural colors are fantastic. Ihave used acrylic for the flowers because I believe that they were also an important part of thepiece.Since I am a beginner in watercolors, especially applying them in small areas, I have used it topractice the coloring and brush techniques. Through applying and controlling water usage in thebackground, I learnt how to remove water spots efficiently. I believe that the blue contrasted with thebackground made the bird stand out more. Since orange is on the opposite side of the color wheel ofblue it worked perfectly. I also fell in love with the original paint scaping of the reference image. Thissummarizes why I chose to do this bird and the beauty and the facts behind it.The Cerulean Warbler symbolizes endurance and patience. The same can be said of art. Unless itendures hard work with patience, the beauty does not reflect for the world to see. For a little bird thatsings joyous songs, this bird takes on an extremely challenging migration from north to south andreminds us, to perfect in the same way our own art. Sources: allaboutbirds.org, nps.gov, massaudubon.org, birdtipper.com
Song of the Sky by Vihaan Shiroor
Song of the Sky-Vihaan ShiroorGrade: 4thDublin, California Cerulean Warbler is a songbird known for its blue hues and rapid, buzzy songs. It is a small bird found in the eastern United States which migrates to warm parts of South America during winter. They love to nest in tall trees in hills or mountains and primarily eat insects. It was Ms. Nidhi, who is my art teacher, told us about the Songbird Art Contest in one of our classes. I was excited to work on my next piece especially since I could pick one of the birds from the list. We had five birds to choose from and I decided to pick Cerulean Warbler. At first I just liked the color of the bird but then I researched a little bit about it and learnt some details about the bird. That made me further like this bird. Do you know that Cerulean Warbler is on the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s Birds of Conservation list? They have become endangered primarily because their habitats and nesting grounds have reduced due to deforestation in the United States, South America and all along their migration path. This little songbird’s declining population is causing imbalance in forest ecosystems where they reside and eat pests like caterpillars, moths and cankerworms. A small bird that can hardly be a threat to anyone is being greatly harmed as deforestation is expanding due to human activities. Reading this made me a bit sad and I decided to make a painting of this bird. I have used watercolor and colored-pencils to enhance the artwork. I have tried to use watercolor in the background and that was difficult since the amount of water needs to be controlled. But I am happy with the experiment since it made me learn something new. My awareness about Cerulean Warbler was raised due to my participation in this contest. I am hoping that my painting will try to raise awareness about this bird among my friends and family members. Human activities have long interfered with nature and innocent creatures are getting impacted. We still have time to save some of these endangered species and I hope we all can come together in this effort.
