By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Staff
Sherborn Library brought the summer season inside with their new art exhibit, Art Along the Shore. The collection features paintings of shorelines and marshes by Lisa Hayden and photography of birds from similar areas by Thomas Hayden. With seashores that feel like walking down Cape Cod and photos of the piping plovers you see running on the shore, to the marshes that feel like another world and photos of the colorful and crazed appearing Anhinga, the collection brings you walking along the waters with the sea breeze catching your nose and the birds calling from the trees. It is equal parts fascinating and familiar for the beholders to enjoy.
To celebrate the opening, Sherborn Library decided to bring birds out of the picture frames and into the real world. Debbie Stein from Massachusetts Audubon Society for a live bird show to share some fascinating facts about these feathered friends. Kids and adults alike gathered to see the predators that usually keep a distance.
Stein brought out her first of two birds and the smaller of the two, an American Kestrel. Often called the killy hawk due to its distinct cry of the sound, the kestrel is the smallest falcon found on North America, only about the size of a robin. This female kestrel came to Mass Audubon after diving for a meal and being hit by a car, causing permanent damage to an eye and one of her shoulders so she could not be released to the wild. She now lives a good life educating people on different birds of prey. A bend in her feathers lets her dive faster than a hawk, useful for diurnal hunting. She also has black dots and a stripe on the back of her head, giving bigger predators the impression that she has another face, so they won’t go after her. She is a small but impressive hunter.
Switching from daytime birds to a nocturnal one, and one that Stein says may be the reason people believe they see ghosts, she brought out a male Barn owl. While they aren’t fans of the cold weather, barn owls are found down the shore of Massachusetts and populate Nantucket, to the point where the Nantucket Barn Owl Trust will install an owl box on your property if asked. Along with a head that can rotate up to 270 degrees, the tyto owl family has radial feathers around eyes to direct light and their ears to funnel sound in which make them incredible hunters. They aren’t the fastest fliers, but their feathers are soft so they fly silently. This bird was raised in captivity and can’t hunt very well, so he will live the rest of his life with MAS and help educate.
The opening of the exhibit was a unique and educational experience, bringing the wildlife and scenery from outside onto the library walls. And on a rainy day, it felt nice to enjoy some birds and art.
