Julie Zickefoose: Nature Artist & Writer
The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds
The Bluebird Effect is about what happens when, by virtue of raising it when it's orphaned or helping it when it's hurt, you are taken into the confidence of a wild bird. It's about the unexpected mental and emotional capacities of birds, especially songbirds, which we tend to underestimate and overlook. Everyone knows that crows, ravens and parrots are intelligent, but have you thought about hummingbirds? Julie Zickefoose has a unique perspective, having been mother to six. And chimney swifts, cedar waxwings, mourning doves, cardinals and rose-breasted grosbeaks, to name a few. Join her for an intimate, eye-opening look at the rich mental and emotional landscape of birds.50 minutes.
Letters From Eden
Letters from Eden is a naturalist's journal, telling the countless small stories of the woods and meadows in flowing prose and lively watercolors. Copperheads strike; starlings battle and become prey; bullfrogs snap up hummingbirds in Julie Zickefoose's essays. Though firmly rooted in southern Ohio, this book has struck a powerful chord with readers nationwide, evoking the rhythms of the seasons and an awareness of natural events that many people long for in the age of "nature deficit disorder." Reading from her work while showing her paintings and photographs, Julie will reveal the deep connection with nature that keeps her walking her 80-acre Appalachian sanctuary outside Whipple, Ohio. 50 minutes.
Personal Habitat: Creating a Haven for Wildlife (and Yourself)
This is the story of an artist's love affair with a piece of land, and the birds, animals, and plants that inhabit it. Simple habitat enhancements can take a back yard from bland to bustling with wildlife. In this slide talk, artist/writer Julie Zickefoose shows how she and her husband have transformed their 80-acre abandoned farm into a wildlife sanctuary and observatory -- a perfect personal habitat. 50 minutes.
Enjoying Bluebirds More
Julie Zickefoose, author of Enjoying Bluebirds More, shows how to get the most from your bluebird boxes, both in bluebird fledglings and in your enjoyment. This illustrated slide talk shows how to site, monitor, and protect your bluebird boxes from competing species, parasites, and predators. Tips on the fine art of feeding bluebirds can help you delight in the company of these wonderful little thrushes year-round. 50 minutes.
Enjoying Bird Feeding More
The author of Enjoying Bird Feeding More demonstrates, with this slide talk, how to set up the ideal feeding station. Profiling many different feeders and foods, from hopper to hummingbird feeders, and sunflower seed to crushed eggshells, Julie Zickefoose shows how to attract and keep the greatest diversity of birds in your yard and garden. 50 minutes.
Painting Birds
Have you ever wondered how an artist goes about gathering inspiration and reference for a painting? How a painting is done, from the first sketches to the final wash? How an artist manages to make a living drawing and painting natural history subjects? Widely-published artist Julie Zickefoose opens her sketchbooks, studio, and gallery for a walk-through in this slide talk. 50 minutes.
Keeping a Nature Journal
Reading from her daily nature notes and showing her sketchbooks, Julie demonstrates how these notes translate into finished works of writing and art. From bobcats to talking starlings, feisty copperheads to murder mysteries, her journal is anything but dull. She offers tips on starting and keeping a nature journal, and finishes with an essay which, like all her writing, is inspired by events recorded in her journal. 50 minutes.
Lifestyles of the Small and Colorful: The Eastern Wood Warblers
Wood warblers are tropical birds that, over eons, learned to fly farther and farther north to breed. While it may spend three months on the breeding grounds, a wood warbler spends the other nine in transit and residing on the wintering grounds. In this illustrated lecture, Julie explores the enormous importance that migration has in shaping warbler lifestyles, foraging strategies, and even physiognomy. 50 minutes.
Hummingbird Summer
In a single July windstorm, two ruby-throated hummingbird nests blew down and were brought into the offices of Bird Watcher's Digest. Who you gonna call? Julie Zickefoose spent the rest of the summer as mother to four young hummingbirds, a life-changing experience. Wonderful photography captures their development and behavior. 50 minutes.
Ohio's Owls: Ghosts Unmasked
Species profiles of Ohio's owls, both resident and wintering, in an informative talk rife with beautiful photography and poetry. 50 minutes.
