Bringing Shorebird, Owl, and Whale Science to Life through Art

August 18, 2026

When Isabella (Isa) Melendez began her scientific illustration apprenticeship with us in the middle of June, the canvas was blank and full of potential. What she filled it with delighted us all and we hope it will inspire you too!

Her task was to bring some of our recent peer-reviewed scientific publications to life. She dug into the research, practiced skills needed to read these dense documents, spoke with lead scientists, sketched up ideas, and put pen to paper and illustrations to digital applications. Isa ended up focusing on three areas of our work based on three publications:

• Whale conservation from this publication,
• Northern Spotted Owl conservation from this publication, and
• Shorebird conservation from this publication.

Whale Conservation Illustration

 

In diving into this topic and paper with our marine scientists, Isa found that she had opened a packed can of worms overripe with fodder for an in-depth illustration. Unfortunately, an 8-week apprenticeship does not offer a ton of time to complete multiple in-depth projects, and there were two other subjects to consider. So, she decided to create these beautiful, simple depictions of a humpback (right) and grey whale that you will see as features or accents in our upcoming whale conservation communications. Learn more about our ocean work here and learn how you can help whales here.

Northern Spotted Owl Illustration

In this project, Isa learned that the threats identified as those to which Northern Spotted Owls are most vulnerable in Marin are climate change, competition with Barred Owls, and wildfire (especially high-severity fire). By talking with our Spotted Owl experts, Isa discovered that there was another threat in addition to the ones mentioned in the peer-reviewed publication she read: disturbance to Northern Spotted Owl fledglings in Marin neighborhoods. Reducing disturbance to fledglings is an aspect that Marin residents can directly do something about.

Isa took a biologist-led field trip to the Marin neighborhoods that share home grounds with Northern Spotted Owls and saw first hand how embedded these homes were within the forests where the owls raise their chicks. It may seem strange but it is not uncommon for the fluffy fledglings to be on or near the ground shortly after leaving their nest . Many people think that when they see a fledgling on the ground that they are in trouble or need to be put back in a nest, but if the birds look like Isa’s illustration, they should be left alone if there is no imminent threat. Human neighbors can rest assured that a parent is nearby and taking care of them and the fledglings are capable of short flights and climbing to new locations on their own.

Marin County represents the southernmost extent of the Northern Spotted Owl’s range and also one of the last remaining stable populations, making our shared effort to protect owls in Marin even more impactful. Keep an eye out for Isa’s gorgeous illustration on outreach materials centered on helping Northern Spotted Owls in Marin County. Learn more about Point Blue’s Spotted Owl work in this past blog post.

Shorebird Illustration

In her third and most intensive project, Isa focused on our recent ground-breaking publication uncovering shorebird trends across the Pacific Flyway. Her goal for the illustration was to provide an image that would not only showcase the birds and science but also help further strengthen and highlight the network of people and organizations that made this important science possible: The Migratory Shorebird Project. Isa set out to illustrate between 10 and 22 of the species that were studied in the paper and ended up illustrating them all! She learned a ton about birds, from ecology to identification, in the process. The way that Isa has collaged these 22 species together is extremely artful and thoughtful. They are arranged from north to south in places where they are commonly seen, and they are color coded with information about population status shared in the paper. She also included elements of the Pacific coastline, images of headquarter buildings of some of the organizations that make up the Migratory Shorebird Partnership, and a few of the key wetland plant species along the flyway. We’re excited to share this gorgeous piece within and outside of the network in different ways. Learn more about the Migratory Shorebird Partnership by visiting migratoryshorebirdproject.org.

A New Pathway Discovered

During the course of the apprenticeship Isa shared her gratitude for the time and space to fully focus on her art and on subjects in nature. She also appreciated the opportunity to explore our field sites and learn directly from a wide array of conservationists in different positions and at different stages of their careers. It turns out that this experience not only gave her a leg up on pursuing a science illustration career pathway but also provided even more inspiration to explore the idea of pivoting to a full-on ecology career. When she goes back to Los Angeles, Isa plans to take some ecology courses to build on the new insights and inspiration she gained during her apprenticeship at Point Blue. Follow her art journey at @melendart on Instagram.

About the Apprenticeship

Our overarching goal for this learning experience is to merge art and science towards increasing engagement in conservation concepts and actions. We aim to provide an early career scientific illustrator with meaningful knowledge, skills, and hands-on experiences in conservation science that can make a real difference in their career journey.

Learning goals include building skills to:

• Explore how to represent ecological studies and conservation efforts through illustration
• Enhance skills to engage target audience(s) in conservation science goals through inspiring illustration work
• Practice the process of creating and successfully completing a science illustration project in collaboration with a team of communications, science, and other conservation staff

We’re grateful to the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation for funding this position at Point Blue.

We will be hosting another Science Illustration Apprentice next summer, so if you’re interested or know someone who is, keep an eye on our careers page at pointblue.org/careers for the announcement next spring. If you’d like to learn more about this position and our art & science work in general, please visit pointblue.org/art or reach out to me, Lishka Arata, at larata@pointblue.org.