Artists exploring with birder Gregory Zbitnew

Ayatana residents patrol with Safe Wings Ottawa for birds injured or killed in collisions with buildings.

Artist Tanya Chaly releases a bird banded by the Innis Point Banding Association

Residents visit the National Museum of Natures archives

Residents visit the chickens of Forest and Farm

Expert owler Bernie Ladouceur leads residents to listen to nocturnal birds

Montreal artist Marjorie Lemay films a pair of eagles
through binoculars with a super 8 camera

Residents work with the Wild Bird Care Center's x-ray collection


Artists work with the Innis Point Bird Banding Association

A Downy Woodpecker in an artists hand

One of thousands of drawers at the Museum of Nature's archives.

Laying Black Star hen at Forest and Farm

Looking for owls

Residents spot a Baltimore Oriole at Mud Lake

Parliament of Owls

Birds and Ornithology for Artists
Gatineau Hills, May, 2021

Dealine to apply Dec 10, 2020

Parliament of Owls is a specialized guided research residency that focuses on birds. It will take place over a week in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada during the spring migration of 2021. The residency will involve twice daily excursions into forests, wildlife sanctuaries, farms and research labs enriched by biologists, naturalists and experts.

Ayatana residencies focus on experience and research by visual and conceptual artists. Writers, poets, musicians and dancers also benifit from this program.  This immersive research residency leaves little time free for making art, so developing ideas with the 5 other residents and collecting material is encouraged at all times. 

At least half of Ayatana field trips are spent outdoors.

Artist talk: We invite you to give a private artist talk to share your work with the group.

Tagging:  Residents will participate in a bird tagging event for scientific monitoring of wild birds on an outing with the Innis Point Bird Banding Association. We may also visit the Bird Banding Office of Environment Canada to learn about how the data collected is processed. We will likely see warblers, grackles, and red wing blackbirds.

Owl Prowl:  This outing will be lead by an expert from the Ottawa Field Naturalist Society. Residents will learn to call owls and identify nocturnal birds. Night herons, Whip-poor-wills, Snipe.

The return of Migratory birds at mud lake:  Residents will witness the return of migratory birds on an outing along the shore of the Ottawa River. 

Dawn Chorus:  Residents will stroll through Gatineau Park at day break to hear the dawn chorus lead by a field naturalist with expertise in identifying birds by song. Robins, orioles, thrush, grosbeak, warbler, veery.

Collision Research, Prevention and Rescue:  Work with Safe Wings Ottawa to collect birds injured in collisions with buildings nada transport them to the Wild Bird Care Center.

Earbirding: An introduction to birding by ear by teacher from the Ottawa Bird Count. Cardinal, swamp sparrow, blue jay, crow, pleated wood pecker.

Birds and the biophony:
Sound walk with a selection of artisinal bird calls.

Farm:  Visit a local farmer's apiary. Wild and domesticated turkey, emu, Ostrich, geese, duck.

Research Collection:
We will visit the Museum of Nature's Research Collection bird archive which includes eggs, nests mounts and skins of local and international birds including type specimen and extinct species.

Shorebirds: Spy on an egret and cormorant rookery.

Birding and bird watching: Walks to observe birds in birding hotspots around Ottawa with local birders.

Location:
Residents will be picked up in Ottawa, Canada and driven to the Ayatana Residency House, near the small town of Chelsea, Quebec. This culturally vibrant town, surrounded by mountains and nestled between Gatineau National Park and the Gatineau River, is home to many scientists and artists.

Cost 
$1300 USD
Residency places are limited to 6 artists. Official invites will be given to accepted applicants to help in the procuration of grants and funding.

What is included:
All activities.
Transportation to all activities.
Supplies, equipment and technical gear.
A comfortable bed in the Ayatana residency house.
Meals will be provided, cooked by our resident chef, except for one meal from a restaurant which residents will be responsible for paying for.

Only applications that follow these guidelines will be considered.

Disclaimer: Those who do not like the outdoors or to talk about art, need not apply.

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For more images of past Biophilia adventures see our face book albums

Parliament of Owls 2019, Chelsea Quebec

Parliament of Owls 2018, Chelsea Quebec

Parliament of Owls May 2017, Chelsea, Quebec

Biophilia Sept 2016, Chelsea, Quebec

Biophilia July 2015, Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Biophilia Sept 2014 Wakefield, Quebec