Kitchener, Ont. woman completes goal of drawing one bird a day for the entire year

A Kitchener woman stuck with a unique goal she set at the start of 2023 – drawing one bird every day for the entire year.

Meredith Blunt is a self-proclaimed “bird nerd” who makes her drawings come to life from the studio in her home.

When Blunt set the goal, her friends and family thought it was a tad ambitious.

“‘For a year?’” said Blunt, recalling the first question they asked. “They’re like ‘why don’t you try a month? Maybe a week?’

To everyone’s surprise, she not only met the goal, she crushed it. She even did so by only focusing on bird species that have been spotted in Waterloo Region.

“There’s 310. So I had like 55 extra birds to play with, and definitely revisited the favourites,” said Blunt.

Some days she even drew more than one bird.

“I’m far closer to 500 birds than I am to 365,” she said.

Meredith Blunt is pictured in her home studio in Kitchener. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)

Blunt documented her drawings through her social media page and her following grew.

She does admit, the challenge was in fact – a challenge.

“Sure, I was so scared to share some of my goofier-looking birds. There are some real goofy-looking ones. And I just had to talk myself through it,” said Blunt.

• MORE: VIEW A GALLERY OF SOME OF BLUNT'S BIRDS HERE

So what advice does she have for people hoping to stick with their New Year’s resolutions? She says it comes down to surrounding yourself with encouragement.

“We all have to build this community that brings us joy and inspiration and energy on those days where we’re not able to find it in ourselves.”

She did achieve quite a bit. A hummingbird she drew was used to make prints and fundraise for Spectrum Waterloo. The community helped Blunt raise $1,700 to donate to Spectrum for her birthday.

Prints of this ruby-throated hummingbird raised $1,700 for Spectrum, a local LBGTQ2S+ organization. (Supplied/Meredith Blunt)

As well, all the proceeds from her northern flicker drawing went to Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge.

Her success is continuing in 2024 with more than half of her daily bird drawings now sold.

“Many have gone through Texas and the northeastern United States,” she said. “I think I’ve sent one to every province and to one of the territories and some have gone to Denmark and Sweden and Australia.”

A website is in the works for fans to flock to and admire, or to buy her masterpieces.

“It’s birdnerd.art,” she said, laughing. “Isn’t that great?”

With the new year well underway, the drawing hasn’t stopped. Blunt is still making birds come to life. Although, a little less frequently.

“No, we’re not doing one each day for two years. But I might revisit it, maybe another year or two down the line.”