66 birds/3 degrees: Go see this exhibit

As a birder and wildlife photographer I am keenly aware of the impact climate change is having on our wild neighbors. Still, when I saw Natalie Niblack's extraordinary exhibit "66 Birds/3 degrees," a part of "Surge: Mapping Transition, Displacement and Agency in Times of Climate Change" exhibition curated by Chloe Dye Sherpe at the Museum of Northwest Art, I did not expect the emotional response I had to Niblack's work. As I walked the room, viewing her bird paintings, their individual songs began to play thanks to a motion-activated sensor with each painting. Each song built upon the last until the room was filled with a "morning chorus," as Niblack calls it, by the time I reached the final painting. As I looked at the portraits and listened to the bird songs, the thought that I might not be able to hear this glorious morning chorus in the future brought tears to my eyes.

That's likely exactly what Niblack was hoping for because her exhibit was prompted by her own emotional response to an Audubon magazine article. "I was powerfully moved when 'Survival by Degrees; 389 Birds on the Brink' first showed up on my computer about 16 months ago," said Niblack. "I decided right away that I had to do work around what the study was predicting, because ... I was moved to tears with the thought that many familiar and beloved birds would no longer be here."

The process for creating the exhibit took Niblack on a journey of her own. "I'm a casual birder, most familiar with the birds on Fir Island where I live," she said, "so I initially decided to do an installation of Skagit Valley birds. I soon found out it was not that straightforward and I was not knowledgeable enough."

Niblack enlisted long time Skagit Audubon member and birder Tim Manns, who also chairs its conservation committee, to help her refine and reduce her list of birds from 80 to around 60. Once she began painting, she thought more deeply about which birds to include and which to leave out. She expanded her concept to include all of Western Washington and to include birds listed as threatened or endangered by the Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and BirdsConnect (formerly Seattle Audubon). Then came the piece that I personally think makes the exhibit so moving – the inclusion of songs to create that "morning chorus."

Niblack felt the need to include more detailed information about the specific threats to each bird species painted. She enlisted the scientist Dr. John Bower, who did a deep dive into the Audubon study and wrote all the text that accompanies each bird. Bower also influenced her bird choices, encouraging her to include some more common birds that people will recognize as they walk through the exhibit.

"We also included birds from every kind of habitat, so the installation ended up being a broad spectrum of bird species under varying degrees of threat due to climate change. So rather than strictly illustrating the study, I think we succeeded in expressing the emotional intent of the publication, which I think is to raise awareness and galvanize action," says Niblack.

I agree. This is an installation not to be missed – whether you are a casual birder or deeply invested in knowing the birds in our area. Niblack and Bower will discuss the scientific process and research that led to the list of birds in the exhibit at MoNA 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday Jan. 20.

The audience will be able to participate in using citizen science resources to explore how climate change affects birds in the Pacific Northwest.

"Ultimately, If we save the birds, we save all of nature and ourselves." -Natalie Niblack, Artist Statement for 66 Birds/3 Degrees

The MoNA exhibit closes Sunday. Go if you haven't already. Niblack's installation will be at the Edison Eye Gallery in the future and at the Seward Park Audubon Center in Seattle October-December.

It is free for MoNA members. Donations are suggested for nonmembers.

See the Audubon study that inspired the installation: https://www.audubon.org/climate/survivalbydegrees.

Find Niblack's YouTube video. It includes the bird songs with each image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIxRHho2q9Q.