Made entirely by hand, this tiny wool bird is a detailed miniature, made to scale and posed on local Whitstable beach driftwood in amongst wool-felt grass and rocks.
The second of my two individually posed miniature red-billed choughs, this male is standing facing forwards out across the sea from the cliff edge. He has minute hand-moulded resin eyes and tiny yarn and wire legs, claws and beak. His individually shaped woollen flight feathers, making up his wings and tail, are held tight to his body against the buffeting of the wind as he keeps watch for danger over-head, just like the choughs on the White Cliffs and surrounding area here in Kent.
Dimensions: Standing proud in a miniature bell-jar, the cork base is 6cms in diameter. The glass cloche enclosing both the bird and its scenic clifftop setting takes the whole piece to a full height of 9cms. The chough is 2.5cms tall and 3.5cms long, has tiny hand-moulded resin eyes, yarn and wire legs, claws and beak.
Each bell-jar bird is safely posted in its own bespoke gift box with ribbon, ready to be a wonderful present
Inspiration
A smaller member of the Corvid (crow) family of birds, I've longed to see a wild red-billed chough for many years - a tricky wish as they have been extinct in my home county of Kent since the 18th century. I was so happy to finally see a pair of choughs swirling round the cliffs in Cornwall a couple of years ago but imagine my utter delight to hear that they have been successfully reintroduced and a wild pair of birds have reared the first native chough to fledge here in Kent this summer 2025 too. What an amazing conservation success story!
So, to celebrate all this chuffing great news, I have designed and made my own little collection in four separate pieces. This piece is one of two individually posed miniature red-billed choughs in the collection. I don't re-make my designs, so each limited-edition bird is one-of-a-kind and comes with a signed label authenticating my work.
Red-billed Chough - a tiny needlefelt bird in a miniature bell-jar
Each fibre bird I create is a work of art to be treasured for a lifetime. It is not intended as a toy or for children, and should be handled with care to the fragility of the bird, its mount and detailing, and the glass or other protective surround included in each piece.
Also do note the following:
- sunlight can fade the colouring of some fibres, so do keep out of positions with direct sunshine
- do not use water to clean the fibre or mount in any circumstances, as it may lead to shrinkage and damage
- some pets may be attracted to the smell of wool, so do keep out of their reach
Should a bird be damaged, do reach out to me to assess if there is a possibility of restoration (wool and fibre can be very versatile in regard to mending).
