As there are a lot of bird spotters among my friends and family, I’ve had quite some appeals for knitted birds. So I’ve taken up the venture of cloning different species in a knitted collection. Nowadays, the kids in my family actually collect these birds and I’m always delighted when they can actually spot and identify a species without even leaving the house!

Seabirds (or marine birds) are birds that are acclimated to live along the coast or at sea. A group of seabirds is called a wreck, and there are three seabirds in this wreck: the blue-footed booby, the great frigatebird and the white pelican. There is also a bonus pattern for a fish. And, as white pelicans are known to steal fish from other birds, make sure to produce plenty to go around! Or, make your own aviary, as there are many more bird patterns available!!

Each bird is a medium difficult, small project, that can be finished in an evening or so and a great project to use up any scraps you have lying around.
Soft toy filling was used to stuff the birds, the booby can be made to stand up with toothpicks and for the eyes tiny beads can be used.
When beads and/or toothpicks are used, the birds are not suitable for small children.

These seabirds were knitted on 2.25 mm double pointed needles (UK 13, US 1). The booby measures 11 cm, the frigatebird 16 cm and the pelican 15 cm.

The rather complex forms ask for knitting flat and in the round with short rows and a bit of intarsia work. There is one instance of i-cord knitting and optionally, you peli-can try your hand at miniature knitting!

Enjoy!