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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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Lovely sketches of one of my favourite birds. You've really caught the angular shapes and the way smew sit so low in the water. I want to get myself and sketchbook down to Slimbridge again now....
 
Saw the news this morning. Mme U and I are members, and it's a short drive. We went watching teenage Peregrines instead. Much less stressfull!;) But not for the pigeon their Mother caught! It was dispatched before it was passed to them...(expect some artwork on all this!)
Slimbridge is a great place, but when a rare turns up there, it can be a fraught place in the hides.
I wish everybody a peaceful time and connection with the WTL.
Jackie...these Smew were sketched "Winter wild", in the distant past. But if you are going to sketch them there, they've been moved to the "Eider Pen", owing to the renovations.
BTW just visited your sites Jackie. Lovely stuff! And a male Smew on your home page!
For my dear American friends, a photo I took of tame birds in the "Smew Pen" at Slimbridge in about '97.
I loved a description I once read of the drakes looking like "cracked porcelain..."
Got to be one of my favourite birds. So tiny when you see them all up close and such.

Have a tremendous weekend all! B :)
 

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phil baber said:
Slimbridge is a great place, but when a rare turns up there, it can be a fraught place in the hides.
Jackie...these Smew were sketched "Winter wild", in the distant past. But if you are going to sketch them there, they've been moved to the "Eider Pen", owing to the renovations.
BTW just visited your sites Jackie. Lovely stuff! And a male Smew on your home page!
For my dear American friends, a photo I took of tame birds in the "Smew Pen" at Slimbridge in about '97.
I loved a description I once read of the drakes looking like "cracked porcelain..."
Got to be one of my favourite birds. So tiny when you see them all up close and such.
Click to expand...

No, not going to WWT today; chained to the studio for the forseeable future as too many deadlines looming. Not that I'm much of a twitcher anyway, though when it's on your home patch....
Glad you like the smew on my home page - told you they're one of my favourite birds. I exhibited it at Slimbridge and all the staff laughed: they said they could tell it was a Slimbridge collection bird because the water was such a manky colour!
Love the "cracked porcelain" description - always knew raku work reminded me of something, but couldn't quite think what it was until now.
 
Cracked porcelain is right. Never seen the bird in the flesh, nor heard this description. But I'll certainly remember it now. What a striking bird! And I now know why people said it was hard to paint awhile back.
 
Thanks all!

The bird has flown to Kent. So, another time then....

In the meantime, your wonderful encouragement has provoked me into dabbling with a website sort of thing. Early days yet. But the pieces are clearer when you click on them.

Hope you enjoy it, and have a tremendous week y'all!

http://philbaber.weebly.com/index.html
 
congratulations on getting the site up and running- very smart

you won't have long to wait before a shot at that plover I suspect
 
Phil, Your White Nun has got me itching for the winter already. I wait with rich anticipation for crisp days, blue skies and the Calder smew to return. Do you think I should get out more?

Russ
 
Missed out on commenting on your smew, great bird, must be a corker to draw. I wouldn't know, never having caught up with one :-(

Nice simple site too, I'm trying to re-do mine at the mo, having not updated the old one for over a year! Eek!

Mike
 
RussB said:
Phil, Your White Nun has got me itching for the winter already. I wait with rich anticipation for crisp days, blue skies and the Calder smew to return. Do you think I should get out more?

Russ
Click to expand...

I agree! It's too hot at the moment, sitting in my undies trying to survive the heat is not the best way of hiding my newly-acquired belly. Smew are sadly very few and far between round here - love them.

Great to see the site up Phil.
 
Thanks y'all!

Hope you had a collectve GREAT weekend!

Been kept away from birding and sketching at the moment.

Life things.

Here's a "meantime unfinished" from '95.

Unfinished Cirls...:cat:
 

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perfect little treasures.....makes me want to start drawing the little ones...but so far that's been eluding me. Yours are always so clear.
 
Cirls always look so exotic - I was half disappointed the first time I saw some - in a muddy puddle by the side of the road one winter - don't see what's unfinished about this one either - looks great.
 

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