Overland Park artist Rebecca Beese painted all 112 North American bird species nearing a population tipping point. Her watercolors are on free display at the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center on Metcalf Avenue.

The exhibit, called "Tipping Point," opened Aug. 29 and runs through Dec. 5 at the center's gallery at 8788 Metcalf Ave. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is free.

Beese, who spent nearly a decade as a teacher before turning to art full time, focuses her work on birds commonly found in Kansas. The "Tipping Point" series features small-scale watercolors of each species flagged in the 2025 State of the Birds report, published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and partners in the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI).

That report built on a 2019 Cornell study that found North America lost nearly 3 billion birds over 50 years. More than 90% of those losses came from just 12 bird families, including backyard species such as sparrows and finches.

The 112 tipping point species in the report are sorted by urgency. Red Alert species, such as the Greater and Lesser Prairie-chickens found in Kansas, face dangerously low populations and steep declines.

Orange Alert species, including shorebirds like Piping Plovers and several sandpiper species, show accelerating losses over the past decade. Yellow Alert species, like the Field Sparrow and Eastern Whip-poor-will, have relatively stable recent trends but still need conservation attention.

Not all the news is grim. The 2025 report noted that American Oystercatchers, California Condors and Whooping Cranes have shown significant population improvements thanks to sustained conservation work.

The Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center announced the exhibit on Instagram on Aug. 27, calling it a solo show featuring Beese's work.

Many of the watercolors are available for purchase directly from Beese. A portion of the proceeds will go to Burroughs Audubon, the Greater Kansas City chapter of the National Audubon Society, to support conservation work in Kansas and Missouri. The exhibit is curated by the JCPRD Fine Arts department.

Upcoming community events: The Taste of Leawood brings 27 restaurants to Park Place on Sept. 12.