American Robin

Sitting almost dazed, soaking up the sun (it’s chilly).

Crow

Happy New Year.

I have some sketches to scan but here’s one for now, to be getting on with. Disruptions of odd schedules are over. I’m hoping to be getting more regular sketches posted on Bird by Bird; thanks for bearing with me!

New Year, Different List

I have decided to notch down the Bigby this year to birds seen on foot from our house. Numenius and I walked into town (about 2.5 miles) with a couple of friends to see Slumdog Millionaire, but we saw a bunch of birds on the way. Here’s a list from today in order of birds seen or heard. I’m going to keep a running total in taxonomic order on the sidebar of Bird by Bird once I figure out what to do with my 2008 bike list.

I have a photo of a bird not-quite-sketch to upload which will appear in due course can be seen at right It’s an egret. I think I’d better leave designing fancy patterns to others who know what they’re doing.

American Crow
Yellow-billed Magpie
Black Phoebe
White-crowned Sparrow
Yellowrumped Warbler
American Kestrel
Killdeer
House Sparrow
Western Scrub-jay
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
European Starling
Redwinged Blackbird
Western Bluebird
House Finch
Northern Mockingbird
Rock Pigeon
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Cedar Waxwing
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Flicker
Mallard
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bushtit
Black-throated Gray Warbler (an excellent find for January, here)
Anna’s Hummingbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pied-billed Grebe
White-breasted Nuthatch
California Gull
Wood Duck
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
American Coot
Varied Thrush (in a large conifer near Border’s)
Green-backed Heron
Great Egret
Barn Owl

Cooper's Hawk

As Numenius said, we’ve had a Cooper’s hawk hanging around looking for small birds. Today it was perched in the almond tree and seems very tame: I was able to get close enough to paint it for quite a while.

Back From the Desert

I have just returned from Palm Desert where I had a wonderful time with a pal. I had hoped to get sketches of roadrunners and cactus wrens. No such luck, though I saw both, but we did get to the Living Desert museum and were able to sketch some of the birds there, including this black vulture.

I saw I think four species of hummingbird (Costa’s, Anna’s, black-chinned, and a possible young or female rufous zipping by). I’m always surprised by how small the Costa’s is.

Verdins were everywhere. I didn’t paint one, but might work up a painting later from these sketches.

I don’t usually go to the desert to draw waterfowl, but these wigeon were just below my feet in one of the museum aviaries…

Ferruginous Hawk

Hope you’re not getting sick of ferruginous hawk sketches, because I’m certainly not getting sick of having one in the yard! We’ve had an awful lot of rain the past few days and this bird seems to be hoping for drowning gophers. I actually saw it hovering, something I knew red-tails did occasionally but had no experience of with ferruginous hawks…

Happy Solstice, everyone, and welcome back to the light…

Sharp-shinned Hawk

The heavy frost from two nights ago and some north winds have denuded the walnut trees fast. This sharpie was sitting in a walnut tree waiting for his chance for some robins, or waxwings, or juncos.

Ferruginous Hawk

A heavy frost this morning, and the ferruginous was back, sunning itself on the phone pole. I went and sat on an inverted box in my dressing gown to draw it before it flew off.

I’m not sure my poor beet seedlings can take too much more of this cold; I should cover them this evening, though it may be too late.

Say's Phoebe

A quick flash of sepia belly… it snowed today, though I didn’t see it.

These birds are longer than black phoebes but get harrassed by them a lot.

Red-tailed Hawk

There has been a lot of red-tail activity recently. This bird displaced another on the pole just outside the window. They are not being very vocal but there’s a lot of flying around.

I’m eager to get down to Vacaville where there’s a white phase Harlan’s hawk, a very unusual morph of red-tail. Eager to paint it. I don’t know how eager it is to be painted.