29 May 08
House Sparrows at the Coop
I had a little wait outside the Coop at lunchtime today; was able to sketch some house sparrows that are nesting in the eaves…
Previous: Black-crowned Night-Heron Next: Western Gull
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 697 702, 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.
Contact me: pica at magpienest dot org
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Wild Turkey
California Quail
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-heron
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
California Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Barn Owl
Great-horned Owl
White-throated Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Western Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
California Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
I had a little wait outside the Coop at lunchtime today; was able to sketch some house sparrows that are nesting in the eaves…
Previous: Black-crowned Night-Heron Next: Western Gull

While I don’t like house sparrows (although I admire their tenacity), I do like your drawings of them.
Yes, I have a lot more tolerance for them than for starlings. But they’re so busy all the time, especially at this time of year. It was fun to just sit and be with them (I usually don’t even notice them…)
Ack, starlings. Hard to imagine they’re Mozart’s favorite bird (or is that an urban legend?). I notice house sparrows the most when I’m in the city – they make nests in the most creative places.