Birds-I-View Birds in Hyattsville

Some of Prince George’s County’s Birds-I-View birds are located in distinct places around Hyattsville, including one at Hyattsville Elementary School, one in Centennial Park, and one between Longfellow Street and 41st Place. Since the Program’s 2003 creation of 74 5′ fiber-glass bluebirds, many birds have been recommissioned, such as

• Mourning Bird by Mark Walker, commissioned in 2014 by Koch Auto Radiator as part of the HCDC-Art Lives Here Biz-Art Match-Up Program;
• Birdwatcher’s View by Eileen Cave, commissioned in 2009 by HCDC, PGAHC and sponsors;
• Vainglorious Blue Bird by Andrei Trach, commissioned in 2008 by HCDC, the City of Hyattsville, and sponsors; and even
• Bluebird of Happiness by Dick Brown, who nested at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore from its original nest in Mount Rainier, MD.

For a map of birds within Hyattsville, scroll down!

From the originating program’s May 2003 Gazette article:

Inspired by the success of the Washington, D.C.’s “Party Animals” and Baltimore’s “Fish out of Water” campaigns, the county launched a similar public arts program earlier this year called “birds i view,” with the goal of promoting tourism here, highlighting local artists and raising funds for youth art programs.

The exhibit, sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Prince George’s Arts Council, will consist of more than 100 five-foot-tall bluebird sculptures, each whimsically designed out of fiberglass. The bluebirds will be perched throughout the county from July through October.

The sculptures will reside in high-traffic areas such as the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, along Route 1 and the Gateway Arts District. Less conspicuous places, such as nooks along the Anacostia Heritage Trail, will also be used.