The easiest way to portray a bird is in profile. Perhaps it's the best way to show the proportions - the length of the beak relative to the head, and so on. Today I'm trying to stretch my skills to show the bird in some different postures. This is one of our favorites, the Carolina Wren, whose cheerful song brings joy all spring and summer - really it does. And they stick around through the winter too, visiting our feeders and finding insects hidden in the woodpile.

Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus
Storrs-Mansfield, Connecticut, year-round

With the sustained cold weather we've had this month, water is a real magnet for birds. Jorge found these European Starlings taking advantage of a bird-sized water supply on campus in the afternoon.

European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
UConn campus, Storrs, Connecticut

Continuing with yesterday's family - and a "plus one". Monday's sketch was a few North American representatives and today I went to Europe. The Eurasian Blue Tit we saw a few places, this particular one in Elantxobe in the Basque Country of Spain. The Sombre Tit was foraging on wild fruits near Sofia Bulgaria, as was the Long-tailed Tit. Just to be clear, the latter is the Plus-one, not a member of the Paridae, but of the Aegithalidae, though it shares the habits, the look and hence the name - Tit.

Eurasian Blue Tit, Cyanistes cyaneus, Elantxobe Spain
Sombre Tit, Poecile lugubris, Sofia Bulgaria
Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus, Sofia Bulgaria

We see the American Robin in winter wherever there are fruiting trees, and usually they come in numbers, eat up all the fruit then move on. The bird Jorge photographed was part of one such flock that he found on campus this afternoon - and by the strong coloring, it's an adult male.

American Robin, Turdus migratorius
Storrs, Connecticut

 A new family theme today, the Paridae, tits, titmice, chickadees - they're found throughout the world. Today's sketch features the Bridled Titmouse which we observed on Mount Lemmon near Tucson in April 2024 and the Tufted Titmouse and Black-capped Chickadee which are year-round visitors to our feeders in Connecticut.

Bridled Titmouse, Baeolophus wollweberi
Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus

Jorge's pick for today is a Common Merganser. This is the female, up from a successful hunting trip.

Common Merganser, Mergus merganser

As promised, here's the third in my Coraciiformes series. The European Bee-eater is one of 28 members of the genus Merops (the bee-eaters), and all are strikingly colorful birds. They're social, nesting in colonies of sand-bank burrows, and sometimes gather in large hunting and roosting flocks. The duo I've sketched is an immature in a crouched posture with an adult who's just caught a large wasp.

European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster
Istanbul Turkiye, September 5, 2024

This afternoon, being a weekend, we had time for an all-out field trip, and went in search of eagles. The lower Connecticut River is a pretty reliable place to find them, and we observed a pair from Eagle Landing State Park in Haddam. Their nest is on a nearby river island, and residents of a riverside community told us about the comings and goings of this particular pair. Good to hear the eagle-pride. Jorge's Bald Eagle just took off from a treetop and he caught it spread-eagled as it gained lift.

Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Eagle Landing State Park, Haddam, Connecticut

The name Coraciiformes is latin for crow-like, and as I painted today's bird I certainly noticed the similarity between this European Roller and some of the jays I painted earlier. The body shape, bill shape, bold colors. This is not to say that they are related in any way, just that early naturalists (and me too) noted a visual likeness.

European Roller, Coracias garrulus, Alicante, Spain, September 5, 2024

Horsebarn Hill really is a special place. Many grassland species show up here, some to breed, and many spend the whole year. The Savannah Sparrow and Northern Harrier are two residents we've seen earlier as is apparently, Jorge's bird of the day. The Eastern Meadowlark definitely breeds here, and for the past few winters we have also found it hanging about this unique habitat.

Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, Horsebarn Hill, Storrs-Mansfield Connecticut

 One of my favorite groups of birds is the order that includes kingfishers, motmots, todies, bee-eaters and rollers. The order Coraciiformes contains three families from the Americas and two Eurasian families. In 2024 I saw species from three of these families, so that's where we're going next! My Belted Kingfisher is flying up the Quinebaug River in Plainfield Connecticut - a favorite spot for fishermen, birders, and fishing birds.

Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Quinebaug River in March.

The Connecticut River is tidal from its mouth at Old Saybrook to the dam at Windsor Locks north of Hartford, a distance of over 55 miles. Jorge drove out to the ferry landing at Rocky Hill to see what birds might be around - and found a few Ring-billed Gulls out walking around on the ice!

Riing-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis, Connecticut River

You never paint shorebirds, Jorge commented yesterday. It's true. I think I'm intimidated by the detail in the feathers of the back and flanks. But because this Eurasian Curlew was a lifer this past summer, maybe I can break the curse? As we drove down from the Wicklow Hills towards the Irish Sea, we stopped to scan the Vartry Reservoir, near Ashford, County Wicklow. Everything was so far away, but there was a flock of these curlews resting on the shore!

Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata
Vartry Reservoir, County Wicklow IRELAND, August 30, 2024

Another lunchtime search for the avian residents of Horsebarn Hill turned up this Savannah Sparrow. In Connecticut it's a grassland and coastal species, and is here year around. The very similar-looking Song Sparrow was perched nearby on the same wire fence, but dropped down into the cattails before Jorge even had the car window open.

Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
Horsebarn Hill, UConn campus, Storrs-Mansfield Connecticut

Starting week two of our bird-a-day challenge. This is probably the last woodpecker in my series - the Pileated Woodpecker is the largest of our local species. My field notes describe observing a female foraging on a stump while I walked a trail in a local preserve on September 25th.

Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus,
King Riverside Conservation Area, Tolland Connecticut

January really is a tough time for birding, in Connecticut anyway. The birds take cover when the wind picks up, when the sun starts to sink, when a jay calls, when a hawk cruises overhead. This doesn't affect this artist too much, but it's a different matter for the photographer... The Northern Harrier is one of the few birds Jorge sees just about every day, and today she was the only bird available for a photo!

Northern Harrier, Circus hudsonius
Horsebarn Hill, UConn campus, Storrs-Mansfield Connecticut

Even colder and windier today! But at least it was sunny... Continuing my woodpecker theme I've gone to Bulgaria, where in September we watched the Eurasian Green Woodpecker at a spectacular location on the Arda River at Madzharovo. The river makes several narrow hairpin curves in this region, and from our vantage point we could see the whole sweep of the curve. And what's not to love about a green woodpecker?

Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis
Arda River at Madzharovo Bulgaria, September 10, 2024

Heading out after work with his camera again, Jorge didn't expect to find much, but this time he was wrong! A pair of Common Ravens was out over Horsebarn Hill performing an intricate courtship display, with loops and climbs and dives and grappling feet, and finally they landed - with the female on the bottom, to copulate.

Common Raven, Corvus corax, copulating
Horsebarn Hill, Mansfield Connecticut

The days continue cold and windy, not an easy time out there for the birds. Today I did some field sketching. There was a lot of activity at the feeders - all three of our regular species of woodpecker came in for breakfast, the Red-bellied, the Downy and the Hairy.  I sketched the female Red-bellied Woodpecker (center) when she flew in to the seed tray. The male Downy Woodpecker is at the lower left, and the female Hairy Woodpecker at the lower right. There's a real size difference between these two species, which you can see relative to the suet cake they both perched on. Assorted other species in the margins...

(center) Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus
(lower left) Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens
(lower right) Hairy Woodpecker, Dryobates villosus

Birds were scarce at lunchtime on the UConn campus today, and though we found six species, and Jorge photographed a few, the Rock Pigeons seemed to sum up the day better than the others. They appear huddled together for warmth against the 24F air temperature which prevailed for most of the day. Like yesterday's Cooper's Hawk, the pigeons hang out near the horse barns - no doubt enjoying grain left uneaten by the horses.

Rock Pigeon, Columba livia, Mansfield Connecticut

 I started new theme today - woodpeckers! This wild-eyed clown of a woodpecker is found in the far western states of the US, south through Mexico and Central America, and into Colombia. The Acorn Woodpecker hangs out in social groups, caches acorns and other foods in holes that it excavates in decayed trees and telephone poles, and in general is a delight for us birdwatchers. We saw this guy at Cave Creek Ranch in Portal Arizona in April.

Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus, Portal Arizona

The cold blustery weather continued today, but it didn't keep this Cooper's Hawk from the need to hunt. This one can often be found near the horse barns on the UConn campus, where it chooses from among pigeons, starlings and cowbirds. This group of hawks (formerly genus Accipiter) are bird-hunters, whereas the other three raptors from Horsebarn Hill that Jorge has already shared here will primarily take mammals.

Cooper's Hawk, Astur cooperii, Mansfield Connecticut

A blustery cold January day - the only remedy is to forget about the cold and wind and go birding, and then come home and mess around with birds some more! This morning we tried to see a western vagrant, dipped on that bird but it got me thinking about other western birds and I remembered that we had seen the Steller's Jay in April 2024 on Mount Lemmon near Tucson Arizona. Hooray! another jay!!

Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri, Mt. Lemmon, Arizona

The other bird we sought out today (successfully) is Jorge's bird of the day - a Red-headed Woodpecker. This species is occasionally found in Connecticut, but is not at all common. This individual appears to be a territorial male - the female looks identical, but probably wouldn't be seen chasing other woodpeckers away. We'll keep an eye on this guy and see if he sticks around!

Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, East Haddam, Connecticut

 And quite possibly my favorite jay, the ubiquitous Blue Jay of Eastern North America. Cyanocitta cristata makes frequent forays farther west, especially in mountainous areas, which it shares with the equally stunning Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri - the only other member of the genus.

Every morning I take a handful of peanuts out to the feeding tray and sing out to "my jays" - Come for peanuts jay jay blue jay, come for peanuts! And by the time I'm back inside and the door has closed behind me they've arrived and are gobbling up the peanuts.

Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata, Mansfield, Connecticut

Jorge's bird for today is the Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris - always a pleasant surprise to find out on Mirror Lake on the UConn campus. There were a couple of females there today, hanging out with the Mallards and Canada Geese. The Aythya ducks are divers, not dabblers as are the Mallards, so when there were five ducks sitting and suddenly only four, we knew it was something different.

Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, Mansfield, Connecticut

 We made it to day two, and I have continued my theme of jays! This is the Eurasian Jay, Garrulus glandarius, found throughout Europe, into the Middle East, in scattered mountainous regions all across Asia and throughout Japan, eastern China and into Vietnam. With such a wide geographic distribution it's not surprising that there is some geographic variation. I've painted the subspecies from southern Spain, ssp. fasciatus, which we saw in Granada. The inset of the head is subspecies anatoliae, from western Turkey, which we saw in Istanbul. It is part of a larger group of black-capped Eurasian Jays.

Jorge's Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, has made a successful catch of a large rodent, which it is now picking apart for lunch. This raptor is another resident of Horsebarn Hill, often seen perched in trees adjacent to the marshes and fields.

It's another New Year's Day, but ten years have passed since I last posted on our AvesInArt blog. Do people still read blogs? I think birders do, I know I do anyway. Off we go then. Last week I randomly remembered that Jorge and I had done our January challenge ten years ago. January 1st thru 31st, 2015. Why not revive the blog by doing another January challenge? 

Jorge's goal is to photograph a different species every day for thirty-one days. Sue's goal is to paint or sketch thirty-one birds seen in 2024. We had two fantastic trips last year - an April week in southeastern Arizona and two September weeks looping around Europe. It will be hard to choose my favorites.

Mexican Jay, Aphelocoma wollweberi, observed April 5th, 2024
Cave Creek Canyon, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

Jorge went out with his camera after work and focused on a nearby birding hotspot - Horsebarn Hill, on the UConn campus. The afternoon was fairly mild for January and many birds were about, so perhaps the challenge was to choose which to prepare for the post!

Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
Horsebarn Hill, Storrs, Connecticut, January 1, 2025