I like to use live webcams to practice bird sketching and these stately cranes give all kinds of wonderful poses.
Not all the cameras feature birds, so there is much to look at around the world and if a live-streaming camera happens to be down, there are many more from which to choose.
The full list of everything seen in the UK, before I forget:
Egyptian Goose
Common Shelduck
Northern Shoveler
Mallard
Tufted Duck,
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Northern Lapwing
Common Redshank
Little Egret
Eurasian Kestrel
Carrion Crow
Common Kingfisher
Eurasian Robin
Curlew
Gadwell
Little Grebe
Mute Swans
Green-winged Teal
Teal hybrid
Jackdaw
Dunnock
Coot
Moorhen
Magpie
Black headed gull
starling
blackbird
Wood Pigeon
Widgeon
Pink-footed Geese
Ring-necked pheasant
Grey Heron
Wren
Great Egret
Golden Plovers
Brant Geese
Greylag Geese
Marsh Harrier
Pied Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Buzzard
Skylark
Eurasian Blue Tit
I really wanted to see an Egyptian goose… and lo… there were two in the field next to where we stayed. (The Redshanks in the estuaries were a bonus.) The pair of geese kept to themselves and if other Egyptian geese flew in to join them in the field, much flapping and indignation happened. The other birds would veer off mid-air. The pair didn’t mind other birds hanging out with them, such as the pheasants, curlews and jackdaws.
The UK kingfisher is very different to our chatty kingfisher at home. Elusive is the word for the UK kingfisher. Should have been called the Elusive Kingfisher, not the Common kingfisher. Ours is noisy and likes to let you know where it is, what it is eating, thinking, commenting on…. This one …the Elusive One, came out of nowhere like a tiny jet fighter and was gone. The sketch above is from the bird guide book.
“Located on the north coast of Norfolk, between the villages of Titchwell and Thornham, Titchwell Marsh is blessed with diverse habitats that include reedbeds, saltmarsh and freshwater lagoons where avocets, bearded tits and marsh harriers nest.”
Titchwell is renowned for its wading birds, wildfowl and geese. These gather in significant numbers from mid autumn onwards and with the arrival of migrant birds from Scandanavia and Northern Europe the fresh water lagoons are soon filled with a variety of resident species and visitors.” RSBP Titchwell Marsh
Oh the wind….the wind…the windy of wind days, yes. What was such a treat were the bird hides…deluxe! One can sit out of the elements and peer as much as one wishes.
Those peculiar lapwings stole my heart.
Barred Owl youngster
Very, very hot here this weekend, what the media is calling a “Heat-dome”. Even the owl youngsters have the right idea, cooling their feet in the song bird bath.
The juvenile bald eagles were, at low tide, giving it a go with the crabs. It was high entertainment, even if they really never held still for a good sketch moment. Even when their bodies are still, their heads are moving every 2 seconds or so.
I know it is not just sketching through the scope but the ability to hold what you see in your memory for just a moment, enough to get it on paper. I don’t have that memory muscle. Right now it is, make a line, look, make a line, look and so on. The ability to see the gestalt of the bird and get it down… one can dream.
Heard the song of the russet-backed Swainson’s last evening. Such a sound. Quintessential Pacific Northwest. As described in every guide book; hiding (check) in the forest of mixed conifers of Douglas-fir, red cedar and hemlock (check) in an overcast-ish atmosphere (check).
These are 3-min sketches. (I reckon if I draw it, I will be ready to not confuse it for the Hermit Thrush). I doubt that I will ever see this feathered vintage-sounding musical box but I will be ready for the whirl of excitement if it should ever happen.
*Saw the Swainson’s Thrush three. days. later. I feel a practical joke afoot. (And yes, it was exciting.)
If you don’t know where to concentrate your pent-up puffin love, do go to the live puffin web cam and make lots of happy noises. These sketches are of Millie and/or Willie. They are incubating (so makes for easier live sketching, especially the snooze mode). The history of how the puffins came to be back where they are is an optimistic read, basically thanks to one man who went out and got the project going: Stephen Kress.
These little sketches are a timed 3-minute fun practice. Find some photos and set your timer and go. Come to think of it, they aren’t 3 minutes really. After all 10 were done, I added the watercolour washes (quickly). The graphite was really smearing and adding a light wash stops the graphite from THE SMUDGE. So… 30 minutes plus a final 8? The practice helps when you are out in the field-, in the oh-so-big-live world, as it helps get your eye in and one feels less flustered with all the flitty, acrobatic movements that happen in real life. (Bless the Heron for its still posture.)
The little sapsuckers frequent the yard; their favourite trees are the old birches.
