Sedge Warblers remind me of Dawn Chorus day, when I often visit a local nature reserve in the outskirts of the city. The heavy sky of dawn, these feisty migrants just arrived, perched on prominent positions, delivering their screechy, mimetic, loud and angry phrases, bursting into the air for a final flourish of flight song. Their throats are a vivid orange red, like little flames, I think they should be called Firethroats, but there is already another bird call that!
Spoonbills are one of my favourite birds to watch. Their ungainly bills and hunched pose, their unique feeding method, bill slightly open, swishing in shallow water left and right, left and right, moving with long strides, until their sensitive bill makes contact with prey, when they snap it shut, then swallow. They might look positively goofy, but Eurasian Spoonbills are stunning birds. In breeding plumage they grow a large tuft of plumes at the back of their heads and an orange wash on their chest to complement their bill tip. I drew the Spoonbill portrait on my Wacom tablet on ArtRage software, using watercolours, ink pens and pencils.
In a recent visit to Blakeney Point we saw the returned Sandwich Terns, over one hundred were gathered on a sand bank, calling their lovely chirrupy calls. Many were carrying sandeels in their bills. This is part of Sandwich Tern’s courtship, when males carry a small fish and call to attract females. The Sandwich Tern’s crest is often raised too, giving them a comical look.
On Saturday, at the end of a sunny day out by the Humber, I spotted a Short-eared Owl hunting over the saltmarsh. It is always a treasured experience to watch these magnificent owls, on their slow, almost stalling flight. I wanted to sketch its face as it moved, as if suspended in the air. Pencil, ink and watercolour on my Wacom tablet.
Many people has watched the beautiful and elegant courtship display of the Woodpigeon: the male positions himself in front of the female (often doing these little comical jumps), then bows while opening and closing his tail while calling. I had seen it while craning my neck, as this often takes place on tree branches or rooftops. A few months ago I surprised a pair of Woodpigeons on the ground, the male courting. As I watched with my binoculars, the male was right in front of me and the angle was such that I could see (or at least imagine) what the female Woodpigeons sees: the bright while neck patches growing as the male calls, the iridescent neck plumage, the beautiful symmetry of the tail and the rhythm of the whole display. Unfortunately, I had interrupted the moment and the female flew away, followed by the male. This afternoon I decided to sketch it, using some photos as reference and the information of a blog, where the display and unusual ‘eye flashing’, when the male’s pupil changes size independently of light conditions is described (http://www.khil.net/blog/?p=3405).
This morning I took a walk on one of my local cemeteries. This particular cemetery has been abandoned for a long time and is managed for wildlife. A piping Bullfinch called my attention and I found a pair feeding on Hawthorn buds. The male stretched to pick a bud and it inspired me to try to sketch it. Wacom tablet using pencil and watercolour.
This New Years day I took a long walk on the outskirts of my hometown in Spain. A small tree where an odd assortment of birds had congregated while they closely watched a cat walking underneath: Siskins, Serin, Blackbird, Tree Sparrows and a Sardinian Warbler. The warbler, with its beautiful and simple pallette, stood out, but it skulked away before I had time to take a photo. I decided to make it my first sketch this year, watercolour and pencil on my Wacom tablet.
A Snow Bunting seems fitting for the arrival of the first snow of the year. There were a few flurries in Hull last night, and the snow kept on the drains of the roofs overnight. Storm Arwen roared all day, the wind keeping most of the birds under cover. I had my first Snow Bunting of the year on the beach between Sand le Mere and Withernsea on Monday, flying over calling its ”cheu!’ flying south. I’ve only seen Snow Buntings once before at Flamborough, then I got much better views as they fed on a ploughed field. A mixed media drawing on my Wacom tablet.
In the last two weeks I’ve seen migrating Wheatears, flying over or feeding on grassland. They are one of my favourite birds, I love their warm sandy tones and their upright stance, allowing them to spot insects on flat areas from the ground. Oil and pencil on Wacom tablet.
This weekend, on a local walk, I came across a Willow Tit, a very pleasant surprise given that they are one of the fastest disappearing birds in the UK. It returned several times to the same hawthorn, so, with a bit of patience I could take some photos, which I used as a reference for this oil and pencil sketch.
Bird Sketches 