2021 Kids Bird Art Contest

11/18/2021

By Education and Outreach Specialist Sirena Lao

The Kids Bird Art Contest is a fun annual contest that brings science and art together. We typically invite kids ages 3-17 to spend time outside recording information about birds in their neighborhood or at a nearby park and then to create a scientific drawing with notes in the style of a nature journal or field guide. This year, in the spirit of SFBBO’s 40th Anniversary, we instead asked kids to recall a memorable experience they had with birds in nature and create a drawing and written story that reflects that encounter.

Once I saw a Wood Duck at Golden Gate Park. It was really close on the dock. I could see all the colors. It was the first time seeing a Wood Duck. It was amasing the colors were awsome. It was early morning and it was fogy. It reminded me of a sunrise.

We were amazed by the response this year! We received 114 submissions, and since this is the first year we have accepted online submissions, we had entries from as far away as Turkey and Singapore! Our judges loved seeing everyone’s artwork and reading the kids’ stories. It was truly heartwarming and inspiring to see that so many kids are making meaningful connections with birds and nature, and it gives us hope for the future.

We are very excited to share this year’s winning entries! Johanna Longley won first place in the Age 3-7 category with her illustration (above) and story (right) about a Wood Duck.

Ria Iyer won first place in the Age 8-11 Category with her illustration and story about a California Scrub Jay (below left). Anastasia Nguyen won first place in the Age 12-17 category with her illustration and story about a Killdeer (below right).

Drawing of a California Scrub Jay and fall foliage with handwriting that reads: California Scrub Jay: the blue bird that takes your blues away. I was hiking in SF this summer, and I saw an Aphelocoma californica, or a blue jay. It was fluttering around and then it perched on a branch and picked up an acorn in its mouth. The cool breeze and chirping birds around me, it was all so pretty. I had to take a photo! The different shades of blue made it seem so MAJECSTIC, and the stripe on its head made me GAZE in admiration. The scene was just so PERFECT.

Drawing of Killdeer family (2 adults and 4 chicks) with handwriting that reads: One day at a local lake, my dad noticed a killdeer in the parking lot that appeared to be protecting a nest. After a couple of visits to the same lake, I found that the killdeer was indeed guarding a nest, a nest of four beautiful blue eggs. However, a few weeks passed, and the eggs still had not hatched. I visited the killdeer nest one Saturday morning, and my heart sank when I saw that the eggs and nest were gone. All of a sudden, I heard something. "Cheep!" Then I saw them. Four tiny, fuzzy chicks running around with their parents. All of the eggs had hatched! My whole family watched the newborn chicks rush around on their wobbly legs, cuddle with their parents, and nibble at the food that they found in the parking lot. I will never forget this wonderful experience.

In addition, we awarded four honorable mentions to the following entries (pictured below): Age 3-7: Alyssa Bac - California Scrub Jay; Age 3-7: Arfa Mohamed - Bushtit; Age 8-11: Kashvi Agarwal - Great Egret; and Age 12-17: Eiya Lee Miller - Anna's Hummingbird.

Drawing of a blue bird with handwriting that reads (with corrections for spelling): I was sitting on the hammock. I was watching for birds. And then a blue bird came. But I learned that it was a scrub jay. I chose this bird because it was cool seeing it eating. It was fun hearing it eat.

Drawing of a Bushtit with handwriting that reads: The first time I ever saw a bushtit was in my fountain. I was so excited to see it and I opened the door to see it better. It looked so soft. I wanted to give it a hug. I took step out, in the cold, fresh, morning air and walked towards the cute brown little bird, sitting in the water. As if noticing me, for the first time, it flew away. I said bye to it.

To check out all the great artwork we received, you can browse this album. Thank you very much to everyone who participated in the contest, to the judges who donated their time, and to Christine Zack and Compass Point Mentorship for donating the prizes!

A few months ago, I was invited to a trip to the marshlands. My father's friend, who likes photography, invited us, and had a spare telephoto lens I could borrow. I had to wake up at 5 am. Then, when we reached I had to carry a heavy lens and a tripod for about a mile to reach to our destination. This day did not feel like it would be my favorite. I started to wonder why I agreed to this. We waited at the marshland but there was no bird. A cute night heron came, but it flew away before I could take a picture. We were just about to leave, but this beautiful, big, majestic Great Egret came. I got some amazing pictures, and it was just 10 feet away. I started liking birds a lot, and now I am really interested in them. I downloaded an [Audubon] Society app and read books about birds.

Painting of a hummingbird. Text: I was outside in my yard and I saw a baby hummingbird on the floor. She had fallen out of her nest and was calling for her mother. We took her to the Wild Life Center of Silicon Valley and the people there told us to put her in a tree where her mother would find her. After that, her mother would come every few hours to feed her. We created a nest for her in our maple tree and named her Peppercorn. One day I saw her fly. Everyday she would fly more and more until one day she flew away. After that sometimes I would hear the high pitched chirp of the hummingbirds.

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