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

Photo-Drawing Challenge Day 12

Good weather for a duck!! - that's what I was thinking (really!) as I headed out in the rain for a lunchtime walk. Then, there they were, four mallards sleeping on thin ice beside a patch of open water in the reservoir.

Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos. Sharpie marker.
January 12, 2015. Hamden, Connecticut, USA.

Jorge found this beauty of a sparrow, the Fox Sparrow, the other day when we were out birding. There were two, flitting in the tangle of brambles - this one paused a moment in the sun, just long enough!

Fox Sparrow, Passerella iliaca.
January 2015, Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

Challenge, Day 11

House Finch (male), Haemorhous mexicanus. 

Variation on a theme of reds and browns today - this male House Finch showed a particularly bright red wash over the face.
It's always great to see our flamboyant Red-bellied Woodpeckers - with their brilliant scarlet caps contrasting with the intricately patterned black and white dorsal plumage.

Red-bellied Woodpecker (male), Melanerpes carolinus. Sharpie marker and colored pencil.

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.

January Challenge continues

Day 9 - After a sudden snow squall, the day was bright and sunny - but still very cold. I found this pair of doves resting with fluffed-out plumage to keep warm.

MOURNING DOVES, Zenaida macroura. Colored pencil and sharpie marker.
Hamden, Connecticut, USA.

The ever-present starlings caught Jorge's attention again. This bird's common name derives from its winter plumage - starry spots on iridescent black plumage.

EUROPEAN STARLING, Sturnus vulgaris. Storrs, Connecticut, USA.

January 8 - Day 8 of the AiA Challenge

Another super-cold, but bright, winter day. I did what any sensible bird artist does - stayed indoors and sketched this research specimen.  This is a traditional study skin, pinned out on its back with bill out straight. By contrast a taxidermy specimen attempts to recreate a life-like pose.

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Sitta carolinensis. Sharpie marker.
University of Connecticut Biological Research Collections.

Outdoor birds were again elusive, but Jorge found another Junco, this one sunning on an exposed perch.

DARK-EYED JUNCO, Junco hyemalis. Willington, CT, USA.

Challenge Day 7

Day 7 of the challenge was again quite a challenge.  Jorge found the starling flock taking grain from the cows' feeding troughs.

EUROPEAN STARLING, Sturnus vulgaris, UConn's Horsebarn Hill.

On my brief outing today, I saw exactly zero birds, so I share with you an acrylic sketch I made last month in Costa Rica. The toucans were my favorite birds from that trip - so crazily gaudy!

KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN, Ramphastos sulfuratus. Acrylic on canvas board.
Provincia de Alajuela, COSTA RICA.