Julie Zickefoose

Gorgeous watercolor paintings show the rarely seen day-by-day development of seventeen species of North American songbird nestlings, from hatching day to full-feathered fledging "

An Artist Looks Into the Nest

Baby Birds

A wild bird rehabilitator and nature artist describes her painstaking efforts to rescue injured birds and her experiences when those birds come back to visit, looking at the personality and quirks of individual birds of different species.

Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds

The Bluebird Effect

For fans of Wesley the Owl and The Soul of an Octopus, the story of a sick baby bird nursed back to health and into the wild by renowned writer/artist Julie Zickefoose. When Jemima, a young orphaned blue jay, is brought to wildlife rehabilitator Julie Zickefoose, she is a virtually tailless, palm-sized bundle of gray-blue fluff. But she is starved and very sick. Julie's constant care brings her around, and as Jemima is raised for eventual release, she takes over the house and the rest of the author's summer. Shortly after release, Jemima turns up with a deadly disease. But medicating a free-flying wild bird is a challenge. When the PBS show Nature expresses interest in filming Jemima, Julie must train her to behave on camera, as the bird gets ever wilder. Jemima bonds with a wild jay, stretching her ties with the family. Throughout, Julie grapples with the fallout of Jemima's illness, studies molt and migration, and does her best to keep Jemima strong and wild. She falls hard for this engaging, feisty and funny bird, a creative muse and source of strength through the author's own heartbreaking changes. Emotional and honest, Saving Jemima is a universal story of the communion between a wild creature and the human chosen to raise it.

Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay

Saving Jemima

Explains how to create a garden that attracts birds, covering such topics as feeding stations, plant choices for various purposes, and problem solving, providing information for each ecological region of North America. Also includes an annotated resource list.

The Bird-friendly Backyard : Simple Ways to Create a Bird Haven

Natural Gardening for Birds

Bird watchers everywhere dream of a landscape filled with berry-laden branches, nesting spots among twining vines, and birds crowding their feeding stations. Let Backyard Birding show you how to lay out the welcome mat for your feathered friends by considering all of their needs, including year-round water, food, and shelter. Whether you’re looking to create a hummingbird garden, install a water feature, create perches for birds, or simply let a corner of your property run wild, you’ll find all of the inspiration and information you need here in Backyard Birding.

Using Natural Gardening to Attract Birds

Backyard Birding

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in bird nests, or what happens after a fledgling leaves the nest, come along on Julie’s sensitive exploration of often-uncharted ornithological ground. This beautiful book is as much an art book as it is a natural history, something readers have come to expect from Julie Zickefoose. More than 400 watercolor paintings show the breathtakingly swift development of seventeen different species of wild birds. Sixteen of those species nest on Julie's wildlife sanctuary, so she knows the birds intimately, and writes about them with authority. To create the bulk of this extraordinary work, Julie would borrow a wild nestling, draw it, then return it to its nest every day until it fledged. Some were orphans she raised by hand, giving the ultimate insider’s glimpse into their lives. In sparkling prose, Julie shares a lifetime of insight about bird breeding biology, growth, and cognition. As an artist and wildlife rehabilitator, Julie possesses a unique skill set that includes sketching and painting rapidly from life as well as handling delicate hatchlings. She is uniquely positioned to create such an opus, and in fact, nothing like it has ever been attempted. Julie has many fans, and she will gain many more with this unparalleled work.

An Artist Looks into the Nest

This book is the perfect bluebird landlord manual. Learn how to get the greatest production out of your bluebird boxes in both healthy bluebirds and enjoyment.

A Special Publication from Bird Watcher's Digest

Enjoying Bluebirds More

A compilation of paintings, drawings, and essays based on the artist's and naturalist's daily walks around her southern Ohio home offers an illuminating study of the wildlife of the region and of the interactions among people and animals, including coyotes, wild turkeys, box turtles, and a bird-eating bullfrog.

Julie Zickefoose

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