From Hawai‘i to Peru, Community Bird Art Takes Wing

In summer 2024 on Hawai‘i Island, ABC collaborated with the Estria Foundation, artist Estria Johnson, and the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center to create a mural on the side of Mountain View Elementary School. The mural features two ʻAlalā — the Endangered native Hawaiian Crow — as the centerpiece. Since ʻAlalā mate for life, they symbolize loyalty and lifelong commitment. They also represent Hawaiians’ dedication to hōʻola lāhui (the revitalization and continuation of the people).

Within the ʻAlalā’s outstretched wings, the mural depicts the Palila, ʻAkekeʻe, and ʻAkikiki — species that are struggling to survive — as well as hungry ʻAlalā chicks and an egg-filled nest. Along with 10 adults, 35 students from the school helped paint the mural. The project took five weeks, including preparation, sketching the concept, painting, final touches, and adding a clear coat. The students also visited the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center to observe the birds firsthand, learning about the serious challenges they face.

“This experience served as a powerful reminder of what can happen to our culture if we do not actively nurture and perpetuate our people and culture,” said Ben Catcho, Communications Specialist for the Birds, Not Mosquitoes partnership. “One unforgettable moment was witnessing the feeding of newborn ʻAlalā — a memory we captured in the mural to symbolize the constant care and nourishment needed to ensure the survival of our culture through future generations.”

The Estria Foundation and ABC are working on a similar mural on another school building this summer.

The Kirtland’s Warbler, one of North America’s rarest songbirds, was the focus of recent art projects on both ends of its migratory journey.

In April, in the bird’s wintering range in The Bahamas, the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve on the island of Eleuthera hosted the inaugural Kirtland’s Warbler Science Expo. Nineteen elementary school students shared projects and art that showcased their knowledge of the warbler’s natural history, migration, and conservation. Alvanna Johnson, ABC Conservation and Justice Fellow, worked with Bahamas National Trust staff at the preserve to organize the event. The team hopes to make the expo an annual event.

Then in early June, in the heart of the bird’s breeding range, the hosts of the annual Kirtland’s Warbler Festival in Roscommon, Michigan, unveiled a 15-foot sculpture of a singing Kirtland’s Warbler perched in a jack pine. Artist James Seaman of New York created the work, which stands in front of a community center. Roscommon was also recognized as the first Bird City in Michigan at the event. Michigan Audubon operates the state’s Bird City program, and ABC heads up the Bird City Network in the United States.

This year marked the third annual Beach Sign Art Contest sponsored by SPLASh (Stopping Plastics and Litter Along Shorelines), a project of ABC, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, and Black Cat GIS aimed at removing trash from Texas beaches. More than 600 kids ages 4–18 submitted art depicting Texas coastal birds or other wildlife; the SPLASh team selected 20 winning designs to be used on signs posted at high-traffic beach access points and fishing areas along parts of the upper Texas coast.

The signs encourage beachgoers to take better care of coastlines and are especially important during the summer months, when more people visit the coasts and accidentally or intentionally leave trash behind. In an area that is prone to excessive beach litter, the young people’s voices and art send a powerful conservation message.

Learn more at splashtx.org/artcontest and check the page in January to learn about the 2026 competition.

In the town of El Molino, in north-central Peru, renowned artist Edwin Enrique Yzquierdo Fuentes (Kadu) and a team of four others recently completed a large mural showing nine endemic birds on a school building.

With the support of long-time ABC partner ECOAN (Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos), community members sought to beautify the town and increase the visibility of the area’s remarkable biodiversity. The birds depicted on the mural include the Neblina Tapaculo, Plain-tailed Warbling Finch, Black Metaltail, Striated Earthcreeper, Rufous-eared Brushfinch, White-cheeked Cotinga, Rusty-crowned Tit-Spinetail, Black-necked Woodpecker, and Purple-backed Sunbeam.

For many years, ECOAN and ABC have worked to restore habitats and populations of numerous Peruvian bird species. The sunbeam (a hummingbird found only in a small area of northern Peru) has been the focus of recent tree-planting and other conservation activities.