My name is Pica. I live in Davis, California and I have another blog, Feathers of Hope, which I keep with my partner Numenius, and which isn't primarily about sketching birds. My ABA list stands at 697 700, which seems a fine time to start sketching birds instead of spending a fortune on a camera and lenses to start photographing them all... The first post from August 2007, detailing all this, can be found here. I am currently participating in the Big Green Birding Year (BIGBY); a list of birds seen on foot or by bike from our house in 2008 can be found below.
Contact me: pica at magpienest dot org
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose (+Blue Goose)
Ross's Goose
Canada Goose
Cackling Goose
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
California Quail
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-heron
White-faced Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Ruff
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Red-necked Phalarope
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Thayer's Gull
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Glaucous Gull
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Barn Owl
Western Screech-Owl
Short-eared Owl
Great-horned Owl
Burrowing Owl
White-throated Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (red and yellow-shafted)
Western Wood-peewee
Willow Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Cassin's Vireo
Hutton's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Phainopepla
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's and myrtle)
Hermit Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Lark Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Tricolored Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinsh
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
When Christopher was here over the weekend he spent a lot of time photographing birds. When he stopped to take a photo of this one, I took out my sketchbook.
It’s much harder than it seems, getting the angle right.
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I do know how hard it is! You did a splendid job of capturing their angles of flight.
“Eloquently rendered!” sez Bosque Bill