As spring begins, migratory birds are returning to Latvia from their wintering grounds, and this spring the bird exhibition at the Latvian National Museum of Natural History is being supplemented by a new exhibition, “Birds by the House”, which features watercolours by ornithologist Mikola Vasilenko (Mykola Vasylenko) from Ukraine. The exhibition is open from 29 March to 23 April 2023.

Ukrainian biologist and ornithologist Mikola Vasilenko lived in Ukraine all his life until the start of the war, where he studied birds. He graduated from Melitopol Pedagogical University. During his student years, he prepared taxidermy specimens and participated in the creation of the university's biology museum. He worked for more than 30 years at Zaporizhzhia National University as a lecturer in vertebrate zoology and the biology of game birds and animals, but alongside his scientific work, he was also passionate about art and illustrated publications about birds.