Short-eared Owl at Kilnsea

Last Monday I had my best views ever of a Short-eared Owl. My previous sightings had all been birds in flight, often distant or fleeting. This Short-eared owl, in plain daylight in a dull and drizzly morning, landed on a fence post and spent a couple of minutes sat there having a good look – and listen – around the long grass in front of it. Short-eared Owls are often active in daylight, and are winter visitors in my area. Last year it was quite poor in terms of sightings, and this early Short-eared owl bodes well for this winter. The owl flew off, its long wings flapping slowly at times looking like it was going to fall off the air.

Pencil on my wacom tablet.

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Yellowhammer singing

For day 7 of 30 days wild I have drawn a Yellowhammer. I love drawing and I wish I did it more often! I drew the yellowhammer based on a distant photo of mine, which I took at Kiplingcotes, a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve where they are plentiful. Yellowhammers glow yellow on top of a hedge, where they sing their cheerful ‘little bit of bread and no cheeeeese!’ phrase.  Pencil and watercolour on my Wacom tablet.

Pair of shags courting

Many sea birds expose the inside of their mouth in their courtship displays. The Gannet’s mouth is surprisingly black, the Kittiwake’s carmine red, while the Shag’s is yellow, with intense yellow spots on their jaws contrasting with their black, iridescent and scaly green feathers. Add to this the odd tuft of feathers that they can raise or flatten at will and their bottle-green eyes and they may look either elegant or truly comical, but decidedly reptilian. I was inspired to draw these Shags after reading Adam Nicholson’s ‘The Seabird Cry, which I recommend, with beautiful and simple illustrations by Kate Boxer. I took many photos of shags in the Farne Islands a few years ago, some of an incubating individual, panting in the sun, very close to us. Pencil, watercolour and ink on my Wacom tablet.

Goldeneye head throw

I watched Goldeneyes displaying and courting a few days back at Far Ings, a Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. Goldeneyes males and females engage in eye catching displays even at their wintering quarters, and this is one of the most striking. The males throwing their heads back while keeping their heads quite stilted. They also call at the end of the display, which I have represented on the drawing. Watercolour and pencil on my Wacom tablet.

Barn owl on dead Ash tree

As I looked to the dead Ash by the river Hull, a Barn Owl white silhouette emerged from the tree. By the time I got my camera ready it had flown up, almost floating away over the fields. Pencil on Wacom tablet.

Little Tern flock

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.

Pied Wagtail

A quick pencil sketch of a male Pied Wagtail on a wall.