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Man captures magical scenes of acorn characters and the wildlife that stumbles upon them

David Bird has created over 100 "Becorns," each with their own name and personality.

acorn creatures interacting with wildlife

David M. Bird/Facebook

David Bird's "Becorn" scenes are like something out of a fairy tale.

No matter how old we get, there's a part of us that revels in the magical wonder of childhood. One toy designer-turned-acorn artist has tapped straight into that wonder with the worlds he creates for his "Becorns" and the creatures who stumble upon them.

Becorns are David Bird's name for the tiny characters he creates out of acorns and sticks. He has made over 100 of them, all with different personalities and names (such as Bing, Cooper, Big Boone and Vildegarde), and they are absolutely precious.

Meet Dink, for instance:

Dink may be having a solo moment of awe here, but Becorns aren't usually on their own when Bird captures them in photos. After setting up a scene and waiting patiently, Bird might catch one of his Becorn friends examining an insect, bathing with a bird or sparring with a squirrel.

And the end result is something straight out of a fairy tale.

"Kind of the essence of Becorns is this wonder about the natural world and sort of experiencing nature and the wonder of nature in kind of a pure way," Bird told PBS. "And a lot of people have said, 'I haven't felt that since I was a kid.'"

"There's a wide variety of personalities in the Becorn world," he shared. "They tend to be gentle, they're almost always curious and up to something. There are warriors that are defending against squirrels. They definitely are nurturers—they feed the wildlife and care for them."

The idea for creating Becorns came to Bird when he was sweeping debris off his mom's driveway and saw the acorns and sticks scattered on the ground. Bird had worked as a toy designer at LEGO in Denmark for almost five years and his work on Bionicles served as the foundation for piecing together his Becorn friends.

"I kind of realized,—Oh my God, everything I did at LEGO I can do with these sticks and acorns and kind of create a whole world with them," he told PBS.

And that's exactly what he's done.

Bird sells prints of his photographs on his website and gallery shows and he shares them on social media as well. He recently shared a video montage of his favorite Becorn scenes from 2022.

"People love Becorns because on the one hand, it's all so familiar, like we all know acorns and sticks and chipmunks in our backyard, and we see it all the time," Bird told CBS. "But on the other hand, it seems like this whole other world."

Watch Bird share his process for creating a Becorn scene with CBS Sunday Morning:

Find more Becorn delights on Bird's website here, and follow him on Facebook or Instagram.

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The study defined corporal punishment of children as using physical force to cause pain, but not injury, to correct or control a child’s behavior.

The most startling meta-analysis published in the study found that "only 1 out of 111 statistically significant effect sizes was associated with a link between 'spanking' and a positive child outcome," while 110 were found to be associated with adverse outcomes.

The one positive outcome was in a 1972 study of children of the U.S. military living in West Germany that found those spanked showed less amphetamine and opiate use as adults.

However, the remaining 110 significant results found that spanking had adverse effects, including: “reducing trust and connection with those they are closest to, lower self-esteem, more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems including aggression, mental health difficulties, and increased risk for later substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and violence.”

A meta-analysis found that when children are spanked, they are less likely to internalize the moral implications of the behaviors that led them to be disciplined. It also found that non-physical discipline was more effective at teaching “alternative behaviors,” “developing a child’s conscience,” and advancing their “emotional development.”

\u201cTo support ending corporal punishment in Australia, where it is still legal for parents to hit children, sign this petition to help change legislation so that we can join 65 other countries that have already taken this step to protect chn from harm \u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\u2b07\ufe0f\nhttps://t.co/2whNouk3eq\u201d
— Parenting and Family Research Alliance (@Parenting and Family Research Alliance) 1682897165

Another meta-analysis cited in the story found that corporal punishment in childhood was associated with mental health problems, low self-esteem and antisocial behavior.

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Looking for some non-physical alternatives to discipline your child? Here’s a great place to start from WebMD.

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