Image: Scott Arvin stands outdoors by a marina under a clear blue sky, wearing a plaid shirt and dark vest with binoculars around his neck and a camera strap over his shoulder. Courtesy of Scott Arvin.
BY SCOTT ARVIN
Tell us a little about yourself. Family? Where do you live and work?
I grew up in Lafayette, Indiana, but my wife and I live in Indianapolis. In Lafayette, my parents have 178 acres of woods with a nice trail system. My dad was a birder and nature enthusiast. I remember walking the trails with him when I was little and he would always point things out. He was very curious about nature and liked to share his knowledge with others.
He used to pay us to find bird nests. Fifty cents per nest. If it was a new species to the property, it was fifty dollars. We were always encouraged to discover things while we were out in the woods. Snakes, salamanders, insects, and other things were brought up to the house many times as we explored. He had an extensive library of field guides that we would look things up in if it was something we didn’t know.
I’m currently looking for my next role, but I’ve worked in marketing as a designer and design director. My wife and I have three grown children. Two of them live in Evansville and one lives in Colorado.
What got you interested in birds and birding?
My dad got me interested in birding. Any time we were out in the woods we were birding. If we went on vacation, it was a birding trip. We had life lists at a young age.
Because of our travels around the country to various state and national parks, I had a list of over 600 species as a teenager. My life list is now 990.
I enjoy the discovery of birding. Every trip out is an adventure with great possibilities. You never know what you might find. I also enjoy the science and skill of it. As a beginner you can enjoy seeing a Northern Cardinal and understand what its song sounds like. Then you can graduate to Scarlet Tanagers and other things. It’s a hobby that scales well and offers you more the more you put into it. It’s addictive.
You’ve designed a lot of graphics for Indiana Audubon, from logos to t-shirts. Which project stands out to you the most, and why?
I like the many birds I’ve designed, but the one I like the most is the cardinal for the Indiana Audubon logo. It’s bright, colorful, and looks nice on merch. I also like the Northern Saw-whet Owl I did as an alternate logo.
When I was younger, we used to find saw-whets on my dad’s property. He and my brothers would look for them regularly. There were a couple of years when we had six roosting in various locations in thick, mid-sized cedar trees. My dad would invite people out to see them. He liked to say that he showed over 1,000 people their first saw-whet.
It’s such a cool species and connects me to when I was younger and climbing up a ladder to be a few feet away from a resting owl.
What role do you think art and design play in helping people connect with birds and conservation?
If you ever look through the Birds of Indiana coffee table book by Charles Keller and Russell E. Mumford, you’ll see the paintings of William Zimmerman. I loved his work and I like looking at his paintings. The textures he painted on each species are amazing. It was inspiring to me.
I found that drawing birds for myself helps you understand bird markings, which helps in identifying things. I like to do more illustrative depictions of birds.
If any of my designs or others connect people to nature, then I’m happy. I donate most of my time to creating things for Indiana Audubon. It’s fun work and I enjoy creating. Art is a way for all of us to connect and show others we support nature.
I enjoy wearing nature t-shirts. It’s a good way to start conversations and get people talking about birds. Any chance you have to educate others is a good thing, and I don’t mind being the “bird nerd.”
Do you have a favorite bird species (or family), and what makes that bird stand out to you?
My favorite bird is the Resplendent Quetzal. My first trip to Costa Rica in the 90s was amazing. I went with my two brothers. We arrived in the evening, so it was dark leaving the airport. We drove off into the night with the hope that we would make it out near a park to visit the next day. We had no plan. Just bird wherever we could. It’s thrilling to be in a place where everything you see is a new species.
We ended up spending the first night parked on the side of the road. When we woke up the next day, my eyes searched for anything that moved because it was a lifer.
We visited several locations around the country. One of my favorite locations was Savegre Lodge. As we drove up, there was a guy in the parking lot waving to get our attention. There were quetzals flying around one of the big trees near him. He pointed them out to us.
They were amazing. So colorful and those tails… We went back in 2014 to see them again. They’re spectacular. They will always be a special species for me.
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