Where the Wild Birds Are

By Angie Johnson-Schmit

Diane Iverson on Birding and Art.

When author and artist Diane Iverson’s husband was getting ready to retire, they planned a trip to celebrate. As a gift for the trip, she bought him a birding journal, thinking it “would be something fun to do” during their travels. Twenty-five years later, they still love birdwatching and Diane has turned her hand to creating extraordinary portraits of wildlife, with birds being one of her favorite subjects.

Iverson and her husband have always loved hiking and camping, which is one of the reasons they moved to Prescott, AZ in 1996. “The nice thing about Prescott is that it has just the right kind of climate so that you can hike year-round,” said Iverson. “It’s not as hot as Phoenix in the summer and it’s not too cold in the winter, so it’s like the perfect place in the world to live.”

They hike nearly every day, adding birds to their list and gathering photos that often end up as references for Iverson’s colored pencil drawings. She seldom attempts to draw in the field, pointing out that “everything I draw moves and they don’t speak English and they have no motivation to sit still for me.”

Spurred by curiosity, Iverson has attended birding conferences around the nation and gone on birding tours in other countries. She also points out that “we have plenty of people here who are naturalists or ornithologists” that she consults when she has questions. While it’s true that birdwatching focuses on the actual birds, Iverson points out that “you don’t just go out and look at birds, you actually pay attention to what their habitat is, if they’re migrating or not migrating and what season it is for them.”

Understanding a bird’s habitat also influences the artwork she creates. While working on a drawing of a pair of kestrels, Iverson wanted to include wild sunflowers in her composition. After some thought, she realized that typically kestrels are seen in pairs only when they’re preparing to nest or are taking care of fledglings. The sunflowers she wanted to include were not in season during that time. “I literally had to use a sanding eraser, because colored pencil doesn’t erase well, and pull out these sunflowers,” she said.

Snowy Egret

The nice thing about Prescott is that it has just the right kind of climate so that you can hike year-round. It's not as hot as Phoenix in the summer and it's not too cold in the winter. So it's like the perfect place in the world to live.

She has spent a great deal of time exploring the wetlands, forests and grasslands in the area, always on the lookout for birds. In the process, she has discovered a lot about bird behavior. After watching a dead cottonwood tree for some time, Iverson noticed it had a huge hole in it that a variety of birds were flying in and out of regularly. She couldn’t quite figure out what was going on until they returned home and took a closer look at the photos. Iverson saw that there was a beehive inside the tree that the birds were treating as a sort of drive-through snack bar. “Those are the kinds of things I think are fascinating,” she said.

Photocredit: Blushing Cactus Photography

Iverson loves sharing her passion for birds and nature, but points out that birdwatching requires a slower, quieter pace than many hikers are used to. “Many people hike for exercise and that requires that you just keep moving,” she said. Birding is not an aerobic sport, “so if you’re real fidgety, you need to run a couple of miles before you do your birding.”

She enjoys birding with her children and grandchildren, although she notes that accommodations are needed when birding with children. Iverson keeps an eye on their level of attention and will move on quicker than she otherwise would. “It’s a fun thing to share with kids as long as you remember that they’ve got to wiggle, too,” said Iverson.

Still, she notes that her 13-year-old granddaughter has also become an avid birder. They got her a pair of binoculars and by the time she was 12, she already had a list of 100 different bird species just from her birding visits in Prescott. “She sent me a text message last week with a picture of a common Myna bird, which we don’t have here,” said Iverson with a laugh.

Iverson has worked with colored pencils since 1987 and has written and/or illustrated 21 books, most of which are children’s nature books. For the past ten years, she has taught quarterly nature drawing classes at the Highland Center for Natural History in Prescott, AZ, taught classes at Mountain Artists Guild, and is participating in the 2021 Prescott Area Artist Studio Tour. When she’s not enjoying the outdoors, you’re likely to find her in her art studio working on wildlife art. u

One of the best places for birdwatching is your own backyard. Iverson recommends setting up a few birdfeeders with different seed to attract different birds. Visit your local birding store for help choosing the right seed to attract the birds in your area.