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Audubon Day

Nature · Animal · April 26

Audubon Day looks at John James Audubon, the naturalist and painter of American birds, and at the simple pleasure of watching birds yourself.

Audubon Day falls on Monday, April 26, 2027. That is 181 days away.

John James Audubon was a naturalist and artist who set out to paint the birds of North America. His large book, The Birds of America, shows each bird at life size, which meant some of the pages had to be very big indeed. Audubon Day keeps his name and his subject in view: birds, and the patience it takes to really look at them.

His paintings are lively rather than stiff. Herons bend, hawks twist, and small songbirds perch among the plants and berries they actually use. He worked from close observation in the field, and that attention is a large part of why the pictures still hold people's eyes.

Marking the day can be very simple. Many people step outside and count the birds they can see or hear in ten minutes. Others page through Audubon's plates, which are widely reproduced and easy to find in libraries. A notebook helps, because writing down a bird's color, size and behavior makes it far easier to identify later.

You do not need rare species to follow his example. A sparrow at a feeder or a crow on a lamppost rewards the same careful looking he gave to every bird he painted.

Ways to celebrate

• Spend ten quiet minutes counting the birds you see or hear outside.
• Look for Audubon's bird paintings in a library book or museum collection.
• Sketch one bird from life, noting its colors and posture.
• Set out a clean dish of fresh water for backyard birds.
• Learn the call of one common bird in your neighborhood.

Dates

All national days on April 26

Also on April 26

• National Pretzel Day
• National Help a Horse Day
• National Kids and Pets Day
• Alien Day
• National Static Cling Day
• National Richter Scale Day

Categories: Nature daysAnimal days