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The Making of a Mascot

September 6, 2024

Every year, our Bird-A-Thon Committee picks a bird species to serve as the mascot for the Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon. For the 46th Annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon, committee members Heather Cameron, Aaron Haiman, and Melissa Pitkin selected the Red-breasted Nuthatch.

There are a lot of things about nuthatches that make them a great avian ambassador:

  • They make a very distinctive, nasal honk sound that’s easy to detect even as a beginning birder.
  • They are extremely clever. According to All About Birds, they even use tools!
  • They climb tree trunks and branches vertically and are often upside down.

After picking a mascot, the next fun part of Bird-A-Thon preparations is working with artists to design mascot artwork. We are fortunate to have many members of our staff who in addition to being gifted scientists, also happen to be talented artists! This year, Point Blue Avian Ecologist, Mike Mahoney, made a beautiful block print of a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Mike is based out of Palomarin Field Station where he assists in training early career bird banders and maintaining Point Blue’s long-term bird banding data set.

The Lookers Bird-a-thon 2018 (Mike Mahoney). Taken by Ryan DiGaudio.

 “I am honored to join the list of artists and naturalists who have designed Point Blue Bird-a-thon t-shirts, and I was excited to create a piece that captured the whimsy and spunk of Red-breasted Nuthatches. My first time getting good looks at Red-breasted Nuthatches was out at the Palomarin Field Station, where the chatty birds with their characteristic, “yank, yank, yank,” would hop between the Douglas Fir and Coast Live Oaks trees probing the bark for insects.” -Mike Mahoney

Mike’s initial sketch captured the species in one of its classic positions:

Red-breasted nuthatch sketch by Mike Mahoney

He then created a block print based on the sketch:

Red-breasted Nuthatch block print set-up; photo and art by Mike Mahoney

The final result!

Red-breasted Nuthatch final art print by Mike Mahoney

Thank you, Mike Mahoney! Mike’s beautiful block print is available on limited-edition Bird-A-Thon merchandise. Find more of Mike’s art on Instagram at @littlebird_bigworld.art.

red-breasted nuthatch 2024 bird-a-thon t-shirt. Artwork by Mike Mahoney.

Delivery takes 1-2 weeks. Proceeds above base cost go to support Point Blue.

In addition to Bird-A-Thon artwork, Point Blue is working to promote and communicate conservation in creative ways. Through initiatives like Art & Science and our Conservation Art & Science Advisory Committee, Point Blue works closely with a community of artists to address climate change, celebrate nature, and support conservation.

The 46th Annual Rich Stallcup Bird-A-Thon runs September 15 – October 15, 2024. Join the flock at: pointblue.org/birdathon.

 

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