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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/08/birds-artist-flock-app-california>
"On a brilliantly bright afternoon in his gallery and studio in Bolinas, a
small town on the northern California coast, Keith Hansen was putting the
finishing touches on a watercolor of an almost improbably flamboyant painted
bunting.
With an ultra-fine sable brush, he made a few intricate additions to the cobalt
blue plumage on the bunting’s head, and, satisfied with his work, slipped the
watercolor into a stout binder that every few days welcomes a new addition.
“That was number 420,” he said. Or to put it another way, just 584 to go.
Hansen, a renowned ornithological illustrator and author, has a monumental task
– a hand-painted compendium of every one of the roughly 1,000 bird species ever
recorded from the US and Canada, including those found in waters up to 200
miles from shore, Hawaiian birds not included. When finished, it will complete
the visual backbone of an app called Flock, whose mission, compared with that
of most apps, is quietly subversive.
For rather than seeking to monopolize and monetize its users’ attention, it
deftly employs elements of computer gaming and social networking to draw people
outward, into the world of birding, with the broader aim of cultivating a
community of conservationists."
Via Susan ****
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
