I'm continuing with my dove studies, this time the subject is our local Mourning Dove. About a week ago Jorge took a fantastic photo of this species, which I used for the detailed pencil sketches - including the light blue orbital skin! I tried to keep the watercolor a little looser, using mostly a #12 Round, and painted the eye with a #0 Round. 

Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura, pencil and watercolor

Why not drop in a photo of my brushes too...

The fine brush is a #0 Round, the larger a #12 Round

There's a songbird that defends its little patch of Horsebarn Hill, and until today it had managed to elude the photographer. The home turf of a Northern Mockingbird is usually a south-facing berry-producing thicket or shrub. It sits facing the sun and chases off perceived intruders, but always fled as soon as Jorge rolled down the car window to get a photo.

Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, Horsebarn Hill, Storrs Connecticut

Day 13 AvesInArt Challenge

The subtle colors of the mourning dove are easy to miss - it could pass as just another grayish-brown bird - but look closely and you find pastel blue, iridescent violet and warm pink.

Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura.
January 2015.  Connecticut, USA

I love the silhouettes made by winter trees against a late-afternoon winter sky.  Add to that the spectacle of hundreds of crows coming to roost and you get a moment of pure magic.  The agile and boisterous crows jostle for positions on the highest branches, keeping up a constant chorus of corvid communication.

American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos. Sharpie marker
January 13, 2015  West Haven, Connecticut, USA

Day 10, AvesInArt Challenge

January 10th was another very cold day, but with bright blue sky, so it good to be out birding as long as we could stand the wind! We visited some of our favorite spots and found a few new birds for the Challenge!
I chose to sketch a little flock of tree sparrows that were gleaning grass seeds leftover from last fall.

American Tree Sparrow, Spizella arborea. Colored pencil.
January 10, 2015. Silver Sands State Park, Milford, CT

Jorge found a roosting Mourning Dove who sat quietly for a portrait.

Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura. January 10, 2015. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT.