Art of Mark

Ideas for book writing

2009-07-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm looking to see if anyone has Ideas for any book writing.

A few I've thought about recently were the following:

1. Children's book on a hundred and one ways to walk to school backwards.
2. Children's book on the best way to fry worms so Mum won't know.
3. Children's book on what to do with the wax in your ears.

you see, I'm having a bit of difficulty coming up with some unique ideas. Any constructive (somewhat tasteful - for age 10-15) would be helpful.

Cheers,

Mark

Gotta have art!

2008-02-22T01:56:00.000-08:00

All you really need is art.... heh, used to be a great commercial in the US.
Anyway, here are some art sites that I recommend buying art from:

http://www.artbank.com I haven't signed up to sell my paintings here, so I can't vouch for anything, but I am in the process, so I'll tell you how it goes, looks like a nice site.
and
- my art work is there and it's a nice way to buy the real deal. They sell prints, cards and even t-shirts.

For the local artists (AU) I recommend the Art Shed. They have good canvases at great prices. The Oils are basic but cheap and the larger tubes... I don't recommend the paintbrushes as they tend to be on the cheap side. I also purchased a nice French easel. Nicely done, I would perfer a stained version, but the natural one is fine. I haven't really tried anything else there. Overall good store.

Basics if you have found an injured bird.

2008-02-20T04:22:00.000-08:00

First of all, if ever in doubt contact the local rehabilitation center, as if you have actually been able to get close to an injured animal, then they are in serious pain... This is only meant as a guide to help if you come across an injured animal to help maintain it until you can take it to a clinic. It is not recommended to keep the animal for any length of time. I hope you find it useful. Also, see some of my links below for rehabilitation centers in AU and elsewhere.

Cheers-----

WILDLIFE MEDICAL PROBLEMS

SICK AND INJURED ANIMALS

Injured animal overview

It is very Important that an injured animal gets help as quickly as possible. Since shock alone can often kill an animal, It must be kept warm, quiet and away from people. Be sure realize that injured animals can be very dangerous, even when they appear unconscious.

Sick or injured birds

Birds in particular, are very susceptible to shock. If possible, immediately place the injured bird in a warm, dark, quiet, ventilated container and get it to someone who can treat It. A heating pad on the low setting underneath a towel should provide sufficient warmth. Birds that have been attacked by cats must be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible. If the bird is a songbird, contact your local veterinarian they may have a rehabilitators number.

Sick or injured mammals

Remember, sick or injured mammals can be very dangerous. If you have a small mammal such as a rabbit or squirrel, have the caller contain the animal and take It to one of the sick or Injured mammal rehabilitators as soon as possible. Do not attempt to capture larger mammals such as raccoons or coyotes.

Sick or injured reptiles
All calls for sick or injured snakes or lizards to a reptile rehabilitator. Try the Human Society or your local Veterinarian first.

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This is not a complete list of injuries and diseases, but a brief list of the more common medical problems.

INJURED BIRDS

Broken wing/leg - Requires x-ray to determine if fractured. Fractured bones may have to be surgically pinned.

Broken back - Bird/mammal may lose feeling and/or use of its legs.

Head injury - Swelling in the head may cause paralysis. May have central nervous system disorder. Head may tilt to one side (cranial tilt). Pupils may be dilated. Requires x-ray.

Gunshot wound - Sometimes pellets enter and exit or be lodged. X-rays are required.

Poisoning - Central nervous system disorder. Cannot stand due to temporary paralysis.

Cat Mauling - These wounds are not always obvious. Puncture wounds can damage vital organs. Watch for infection.

Oiled birds - A soap (Dawn detergent) and water solution is used to remove the oil.

MEDICAL PROBLEMS - DISEASES

This is not a complete list of diseases that raptors are susceptible to, but a list of some common medical problems we encounter at Liberty Wildlife. Lab tests (blood, fecal, tissue studies) are necessary to properly diagnose a disease.

ASPERGILLOSIS: A fungal infection of the respiratory system. The spores of the fungus are found all over the world and the disease is contracted by both wild and captive birds. Spores are found in moist hay, feed, and animal debris. The most common route of infection is by inhalation of airborne spores.

AVIAN POX: Pox manifests itself in several ways. The most easily noticed is an inflammatory swelling of small lumps on exposed areas such as the feet, face, and vent. This cutaneous form begins as tiny white bumps, becoming larger and changing color to yellowish or pink. Finally, they form a dark tough, brown scab. The scabs that drop off naturally leave smooth scar tissue underneath. This form is called "dry pox." The opposite form, "wet pox," is caused by the same virus but affects the mucus membranes of the mouth, throat, and nasal passages. It starts as tiny white nodules and may later become larger yellow cheesy areas lining the mouth.

BUMBLE FOOT: A term used for foot problems in raptors. Clinical signs may vary according to the stage of infection. Bumblefoot can involve a swollen metatarsal pad with or without a small ulcerative lesion and can spread to involve the entire toe, including the tendon if not treated.

CAPILLARIA: Caused by round worms. Infestation by ingesting infected food, contaminated water or eating earthworms. Diagnosis by fecal examination. Affected birds may show caseous growths in the mouth (resembles trichomoniasis), birds become weak, emaciated, and may extend and retract their heads after -eating. Casted pellets may be poorly formed.

COCCIDIOSIS: A protozoa infection of the lower digestive tract. Causes extensive destruction of intestinal walls and diarrhea results. Infection is by ingesting food or water that has been -contaminated by feces. The most obvious clinical sign of coccidiosis is seeing small red dots in the mutes of the bird. These red spots are specks of blood. Fecal examination can. determine the presence of oocysts.

ENDOPAAASITES: Round worm and tape worm infestations can occur in raptors. These internal parasites usually become a problem secondarily to other infections or medical problems. Weakness, diarrhea, and weight loss are symptoms of internal parasites. Routine cleanliness of housing areas and removal of uneaten food can be helpful in preventing these problems.

GAPEWORM: Caused by the roundworm Syngamus trachea. Infection is by eating infected food or drinking infected water. A pea-sized lesion may appear in the throat (trachea). Young birds are usually the most seriously affected. The rapidly growing gapeworms may obstruct the trachea, causing the bird to gape or gasp.

TRICHOMONIASIS (Frounce, Canker): A protozoan infection of the upper digestive tract. Cause is from eating other infected birds such as doves, pigeons, or other seed-eaters, or from vitamin deficiency. This disease is highly contagious. Symptoms: lesions and inflammation of the mouth, throat, and crop. Blockage of the esophagus by these lesions can cause a bird to starve to death, and blockage of the windpipe can cause suffocation. Look for lesions on the floor and the roof of the mouth. The infection appears as a whitish or yellowish cheesy-like mass.

Birding info

2008-02-19T02:37:00.000-08:00

I have found some old documents of medical terms and other helpful hints for bird rehabilitation, I also found my skull drawings.

Side View:

Ventral View:

Jaw View:

Baby bird identifcations (US Region):
BABY BIRDS WITH YELLOW ON THE SIDE OF THEIR BEAK:

HOUSE SPARROWS: No fuzz. Without feathers: Hatched naked, all pink with darkish stripe down back, yellow beak. With feathers: Yellow on side of beak, pink inside of mouth. Feathers are different shades of brown; light colored breast with no stripes or spots. Voice is a one-note chirp.

HOUSE FINCHES: Without feathers: Fuzz all over head, on back and wings. Yellow on side of beak, bright red inside mouth. With feathers: Plumage similar to sparrows but with streaked breast; fuzz above eyes. Little or no yellow on side of beak, red inside mouth. Male juvenile plumage lacks the red of the adult male.

ABERT'S TOWHEE: Fuzz, yellow on side of beak. Resemble sparrows but plumage is uniformly brown. A blackish mask around the eyes is visible by fledgling age. Voice is high-pitched, singular note, continuous.

Sparrows, finches & towhees have a small crop on the right side of the neck which becomes visible when full (difficult to see when the bird is fully-feathered).

STARLING: Fuzz, wide beak with bright yellow on side, yellow inside of mouth. Brownish or charcoal gray plumage, lighter at chin. Noisy; kind of a screaming cry for food.

MOCKINGBIRD: Fuzz, yellow on side of beak and inside mouth. Gray plumage with white noticeable on wings. Breast is whitish with gray spots. Two distinct notes; a one-note chirp" and a piercing cry for food. An adult lacks the spotted breast of the juvenile.

CURVE-BILLED THRASHER: Fuzz, pale yellow on side of beak and inside mouth. Grayish-brown plumage, lighter(whiter)at chin and belly. No white patches or wing bars. Cry is a soft series of notes, unlike a starling.

No fuzz. Without feathers: Hatched naked, all pink with darkish stripe down back, yellow beak. With feathers: Yellow on side of beak, pink inside of mouth. Feathers are different shades of brown; light colored breast with no stripes or spots. Voice is a one-note chirp.

More on what to do if you find a hurt bird tomorrow....best leave to the professionals...

getting back to art a bit...

2008-02-18T03:09:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of my more recent photos from Lake Boga. This is a small lake up north near Swan Hill, in Victoria AUstralia. Note that almost all of the lake is dried up. These photos show about a half mile hike out before we actually are close to the actual left over water...

These photos are available for cards, and prints:

These photos are available for cards, and prints:

Does anyone have links to bird rehabilitiation sites?

2008-02-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

Does anyone have links to bird rehabilitiation sites? I'm trying to grow my blog by having environmental links that are there to help out and to bring up some questions that I hope will get people thinking about the world around them. If you are into Bird or wildlife rehabilitation or have photos that are relevant, please submit them.

Regards,

2008-02-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some examples of environmental shirts for sale- just click on the link for these and other examples of works for sale.

Link to site

I'm also available to work on new ideas if your group would like to have a tee shirt design.

birding feather types

2008-02-13T02:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the types of feathers one might find whilst bird watching:

One of the most distinguishing features of birds is the presence of feathers. Feathers come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Here are the different types of feathers.

FEATHER TYPES

There are five major types of feathers. Contour feathers cover the body and streamline the bird. Examine a contour feather. Notice the rachis, vane, and calamus.

Semiplumes are found hidden beneath the contour feathers and along the edges of feather tracts. They are downy in appearance but have a long central rachis. They insulate and increase buoyancy in water birds.

Filoplumes are very small, highly modified feathers. They are associated with contour feathers and are positioned nestled among them. They are used to sense if the contour feathers are properly arranged.
These can be found on the ground or in a nest and can help determine the types of birds in the area, even if you can't see them.

Down feathers provide insulation. The barbs are not connected and therefore do not form a vane. A short, vestigial rachis is present and it is shorter than the attached barbs. This feather provides insulation and is especially abundant on waterbirds.

Bristles are the fifth feather type. This feather has a very stiff rachis which lacks barbs except at its' base. They are most often found around the mouth and on the eyelids.

Flight feathers are highly modified contour feathers located on the wings and tail. The wing flight feathers are called remiges. The remiges are further subdivided into feathers found on the manus ("and) called primaries, which are numbered from the inside out. Those found on the forearm (ulna) are called secondaries, which are numbered from the outside in. Between the secondaries and the body are a group of contour feathers not generally considered as remiges called tertiaries or scapulars. These feathers are highly modified in some species, such as waterfowl.

The primaries are usually distinguishable from secondaries by their off-center rachis. The rachis is positioned toward the edge of the feather that intercepts the air stream. Notice that you can tell left from right wing using this character. The rachis is usually centrally positioned in the secondaries.

Note that the primaries of certain birds, such as geese, have a glossy stiffened portion of the inner vane from the base out to about 2/3 of the feather length. This is termed the tegmen and is formed by the expanded ventral ridge of each barb. The current thought about the function of the tegmen is that it acts as a valve in flight, letting air from above pass between the feathers easily on the wing's upstroke, but not from below on the down stroke.

environmental issues

2008-02-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

In addition to photography, I'm concerned about environmental issues. I will be posting some environmental sites as well as animal rehabilition sites, and numbers as they seem to be difficult to find.

If you have any environmental issues or bird or wildlife rehabilition photos, ideas websites then please feel free to post...

Here's a site for the Victoria, Australian area for wildlife rehabilitation:

http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/news.html -just temporarly added until I have official approval for link...

Here's one with links for the birds rehabilitation in Australia. Once again, it's not offically sponsored yet:
http://www.feathersandfoxtrot.com.au/wildlife_rehabilitation_contacts.htm

Here's one that lists global contacts for bird rehabilitation:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contactI.htm

Link to some Environment awareness shirts I've created

Cheers,

Mark

First Posting - some photos

2008-01-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

Here's some of my art work for sale on Redbubble

Flash link

or general banner for those who don't have\want flash