Birds of England for April—the original Draw-a-Bird Day

April 8 was designated Draw-a-Bird Day because of a little girl in England. Here’s the story behind DAB-Day’s origins:

In 1943, Dorie Cooper, a seven-year-old living in England, went with her mother to a hospital to visit her uncle who was wounded in the war. Dorie’s uncle was very distraught, having lost his right leg to a land mine. In an attempt to cheer him up, Dorie asked him to draw a bird for her. He looked out his window and drew a picture of a robin.

After seeing her uncle’s bird picture, Dorie laughed out loud and proclaimed that he was not a very good artist, but that she would hang the picture in her room nonetheless. Her uncle’s spirits were lifted by his niece’s complete honesty and acceptance. Several other wounded soldiers also had their day brightened by the event, and every time Dorie came to visit thereafter, they held drawing contests to see who could produce the best bird pictures. Within several months, the entire ward’s walls were decorated by bird drawings.

Three years later, Dorie was killed after being struck by a car. At her funeral, her coffin was filled with bird images that had been made by soldiers, nurses, and doctors from the ward where her uncle had been. Ever since then, those men and women remembered the little girl that brought hope to the ward by drawing birds on her birthday, April 8.

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I don’t know when April 8 became an international thing, but the Wednesday Studio heard about it in 2016 and turned it into a MONTHLY day.

As stated on the website “nationaltoday,” DAB-Day is not about artistic skills, but about having fun and sharing drawings of birds. The key is to spread joy and pleasure as everyone shares his or her drawings regardless of how they look. 

Thus, the Wednesday Studio’s DAB-Day is open to all. Send a photo of your bird to wednesday.studio.artists@gmail.com, and we’ll include it in the blog.

In memory of Dorie, this month’s DAB-Day theme is birds of England. And welcome to first-time submitters: Jane Mallonee and Ella G.