I went to see the Little Tern colony at Beacon Ponds, near Spurn Head on Monday, a very warm, sunny day. The Little Terns fished back and forth from the sea and the lagoon to the shingle beach where they nest, sometimes hovering for a while before diving head first. Some were sitting on nests. At one point, something spook them and they all took flight in a compact flock and circled around before settling again. A pencil and watercolour sketch.
A quick pencil sketch of a male Pied Wagtail on a wall.
I was lucky enough recently to see some Little Owls in the Yorkshire Wolds. One of them sat on an old, gnarled oak, well camouflaged. The only give-away its rounded silhouette in the fading light. It stared to the camera, unsure, before flying off. Watercolour and Pencil on Wacom tablet.
Mediterranean Gulls are back in their breeding ground at North Cave Wetlands in their striking summer plumage. One walked about the much more numerous Black-headed gulls in the colony, adopting this pose, neck straight and bill pointing down, as if to make sure everybody knows how great they look this time of year. The Black-headed gulls are smaller, and their heads, in comparison, are actually chocolate colour. The bill and leg colour in the Mediterranean gull is more intense red. A quick sketch on Wacom tablet with pencil and watercolour.
In a visit to a local nature reserve I heard the first singing Reed Buntings of the year. It is not a song that will blow you away, more three notes repeated with not much musicality. If you look toward the reed patch, dry flower heads or bushes, the contrasting black cap and white collar, which is often fluffed up when singing, will reveal the singing bird. Watercolour and pencil on Wacom tablet.
This female Kestrel, perched on a hawthorn, watched the meadow below intently. At some point it took off and flew to the grass, probably having spotted a vole or wood mouse. A pencil and watercolour sketch on my wacom tablet.
