I've been wanting to post this sketch for ages, but had to wait until a visit to my parents' home to dig it up.
Of all the many field sketches I have done in my 30+ years of birding, this one stands out for me. It's not a great picture by any means (!), it hardly portrays the bird, but it captures perfectly the state of mind I was in when I drew it.
For me it encapsulates those crazy autumns on Scilly in the years before mobiles, hitching down to Penzance, camping on the Garrison, and getting scared if you didn't see another birder for half an hour - What am I missing?!
This one, after a frantic boat ride and breathless run from the jetty, was one of my most memorable birding moments. Of course, I did a much calmer sketch later, but this 'heat of the moment' one is still my favourite.
By the way, can you guess the species??