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Robin

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Sparrow

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Blue Jay

Chuck Wilbur found this bird in Webster Groves and we walked almost a mile back to where he spotted it while bicycling.  Well worth it - this one is one of my favorites.  Another striking color commentary!

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Robin

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Robin

This is one of the first birds that I shot with my iPhone, rather than going back for the camera.  The picture quality is different but the ease in capturing the photograph was well worth the change.

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Chickadee

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Cardinal

This bird was nearly as striking as the first cardinal that inspired this project, found in the road at the sidewalk edge.

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Unknown

I found this bird in a grocery store parking lot in really bad shape.  I have no idea what it was and was saddened that it had become so mangled.

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Warbler

This bird was almost pristine.  I'm not certain just what happened to her.  She was another one I couldn't leave in the road, and I picked her up and took her home with me, to bury under the young fringe tree.

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Chickadee

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Robin

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Goldfinch

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Cardinal

This is the bird that started it all.  As I drove through the Augusta Shores subdivision during the plein air event in April 2009, I was drawn to a brilliant red color in the road and stopped to see what it was.  The dead bird affected me, both for the beauty & vibrancy of color and for the sadness at the loss of life.  After taking the photograph of the bird as hit, I moved it to the side of the road.

Jennifer Weigel Artist's Statement

Road Kill

Like many of my other artworks, these photographs explore the fragility of life.  The series began in April 2009, when I first noticed a cardinal who had been hit by a car.  I was taken with both the brilliance of color and a sense of sadness that the cardinal lost its life.

I have since begun a series of photographs documenting songbirds that have been hit by cars.  Why songbirds?  Because they are not near so resilient as many other animals and so rarely recover from injuries sustained after being struck by cars or falling great distances from their nests.  Male songbirds are often vibrantly colored and draw attention to themselves, bringing into question how they are still at risk from automobile traffic as they are much more vibrant and easier to spot.  Also, songbirds are adored by many people and are often more welcome in our backyards than the squirrels and rabbits that eat our manicured landscaping or the pigeons, starlings and other birds that many perceive of as a nuisance or as disease-ridden pests.  Thus, I think that these photographs of songbirds will connect with a much larger audience than photographs of other animals struck by cars, although I may begin documenting other animals in order to make others aware of their losses as well.

As this series grows and evolves, I have begun to further ponder how we humans come into so many conflicts with the natural world and the losses that the environment has sustained from our practices. By showing these photographs, I hope to get others thinking about their effects on the ecosystem and its inhabitants as well.