Western Bluebird

My new Komtrak sketchbooks arrived today, just in time for me to start sketching in colored pencil. Nothing like a bluebird to smash through the intimidating glare of a virgin page…

A Couple More Zoo Drawings

A couple more drawings from Sunday’s sketchcrawl—I did try to track down the wood duck at the pond, there, but it knew I was after it and it swam the other way.

It was a good opportunity, again, to study birds hard; interesting to see new things about both these species which I drew back in September.

Finally, here’s a female Nuttall’s woodpecker I drew outside my window yesterday. Nine in the morning seems to be maximum activity time around here…

Azure-winged Magpie

This bird was a denizen of the oak woodlands in Spain where we used to camp when I was growing up. It has a weird distribution — Spain and Portugal and China. (I think the species has been split.)

It was fun if sad to see it today at the zoo instead of flying around free. But today’s Sketchcrawl was great fun — met some wonderful Sacramento-area sketchers. We’ve decided to do Apple Hill next year during the apple harvest…

White-crowned Sparrow

I’ve been pondering how best to get a quick patch of color on my birds when I have the time for it. I tried watercolor this morning. Not great, but I can see the potential with a bit of practice…

Of course this requires TAKING your watercolors with you. I went over to the arboretum to draw the wood ducks (one of the most colorful birds in the country) that are hanging out at the western end. I had pens but no watercolors. Oh well.

Tomorrow’s the Sketchcrawl at the zoo, so expect some non-native birds… unless I can find some wood ducks there!

Mourning Dove, Again

I keep hearing red-breasted nuthatches, kinglets, juncos. Nary a one to sit still so I can draw it. This mourning dove is enjoying the afternoon sun — it’s been a chilly day today and has only just started to warm up.

Local Rarity?

I met up with birding buddies Kevin, Sid, Rick, and Greg to look for reported sharp-tailed sandpipers (2) and a female garganey out at the Yolo Bypass, not five miles form home. We looked for the sharp-tailed first without luck.

The “garganey” was easier to see, out on a pool with some shovelers. It was quite far away and hard to draw but I did a few sketches, these at right and some in colored pencil I wasn’t happy with.

This bird may not be a garganey, and there’s quite a discussion going on about it on the local bird list. Discouraged by my lack of ability to render the bill (or indeed the bird in such rudimentary form as to make a later ID possible), I resolved to go to the Arboretum to draw duck bills…

Northern Flicker

Too much baseball, and still uncooperative juncos…

Bluebirds, Again

I keep trying to catch up with the juncos but they’re fast… and the bluebirds continue to hang around the holes in the phone pole, providing lots of opportunity for fast pen sketches…

More Corvid Caching

Today it was the yellow-billed magpie, trying to bury an acorn in some dried grasses…

Crow in the Almond

The wind was awful yesterday. This morning was completely calm, and we’re about to head into a week of high temperatures. (I’m relieved for my planting plans, because I finally got the bed finished for the root vegetables and they’ll be glad the soil’s warmer.)

This crow was sitting in the top of the almond tree, passing comment on what was happening around and below. Loudly.