JTMB's Bird Art (2 Viewers)

[JTMB]

Thanks so much Mayoayo, Ken, Colleen, Mike and Bigshent!

I'm still unable to get on the website from my regular computers (two of them) since the server change and am no longer getting e-mail notifications of posts either, sigh. Fortunately I can still access the site with my wife's computer - why hers works and my two don't (they're all on the same wireless network) is beyond me.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and shortly a very Happy New Year.

Here are some more sketches of my 2012 species sightings. I'm less than 25% through 2012 and tomorrow is 2013 - good thing the only timetable on these is my own, which is obviously pretty flexible! :-O

 

[mattybohan]

excellent last push for 2012 paintings! The V thrush and C goose are especially nice to my eye.

 

[Oskar Moilanen]

You really brought out the 'zing' of that Hummingbird with few strokes. Notes can be an enjoyable read which brings a more dynamic feel to the sketch. A happy new year to you and all our beloved!

 

[timwootton]

Really smart John, well done!! Happy New Year.

 

[Lykos]

great work..and I love the canada goose...:t:

 

[solitaryVSong]

Geese and coot for me John.

 

[Bigshent]

Yes there is something about the Geese that smacks you in the face. Again lovely work :king:

 

[JTMB]

Thanks Matty, Oskar, Tim, Gaby, Ken and Bigshent!

OK, here we go with 2012 bird species #52 through 57. The first page is Hooded Merganser and Glaucous-winged Gull. I think the Hoody drake is one of the top three or four most handsome of the duck species, and I like watching the head bobbing and throwback mating display. The Glaucous-winged Gull (and hybrids with Western Gulls) is by far our most numerous gull in the Puget Sound area. It is a '4-year gull' meaning it takes four years to reach adult plumage. I've shown a first winter and an adult here.

The second page is a Bufflehead and Ring-necked Duck. The Bufflehead is a very small (teal size or less) duck with strong sexual dimorphism - the handsome drake is shown here. In sunlight, the drake's head shimmers with blue, green and purple highlights - sometime I failed to capture here. The female is quite drab by comparison. The Ring-necked Duck should really be called the Ring-billed Duck since its bill does have a white ring. There is a ring around the neck of the duck, but it's much more subtle than the bill ring. The Ring-necked Duck appears more dark - almost black -than shown here. The reference bird was in a bright sun which brought out the brownish hues.

Finally, the last two are Hairy Woodpecker and Cooper's Hawk. The Hairy Woodpecker is (generally) less numerous than the Downy Woodpecker and so always fun to see. This one was bringing grubs back to a nest for her young. I found the nest about three days before the chicks fledged, and was able to get some great reference photos. A Cooper's Hawk (like your Sparrowhawk) terrorizes the feeder birds at our house during the winter. He has everyone laying low today after a couple of low altitude, high speed attacking runs near our feeders. This will go on for the entire winter while I have the feeders out.

 

[Bigshent]

When your on a role you certainly knock them out. I love the pose on the Coopers full of menace :t:

 

[colleenc]

really flying high now John, just fab work

 

[Strandman]

that's a seriously high-impact diary

it's a great reminder that sketches don't have to be little, safely confined within the margins of the page and they don't have to be underjuiced with colour either

 

[JTMB]

Thanks Bigshent, Colleen and Ed!

Here are the next six species, taking me through #63 for 2012.

On the first page, the American Dipper is one of my favorites - and a very quirky bird. It lives along fast, clear mountain streams and dives (and walks) underwater, feeding on aquatic insects and small fish. A Passerine with feeding behavior like a diving duck...hmmm?!

I also like the woodpecker family, and the sketches here include Pileated Woodpecker and Red-breasted Sapsucker. The Western Scrub-Jay has been expanding its range into our state rapidly. Not too many years ago, it would have been a major rarity - now in places it's becoming common.

 

[solitaryVSong]

Moving along nicely John. That plate of sapsucker and scoter is particularly nice.

 

[cjoakley]

Hi John - I love this idea of capturing everything you've seen - I too would love to see the whole sketch book...particularly liked the Cooper's and the pacific wren...beautiful work...hadn't realized you were a trying your hand at landscapes too! Great stuff here...

 

[JTMB]

Thanks Ken and Chris!

Chris - yes, landscapes are actually where I spend most of my time. For birds, I tend to do quicker sketches and journaling sorts of things.

 

[Woody]

Cracking piece of work this John.

Love the hawk and the peckers especially amongst this latest batch.

Mike

 

[JTMB]

Thank you, Mike!

Here is the latest batch of quickies...Greater Scaup (female), Peregrine Falcon chasing Dunlin, Cackling Goose, American Goldfinch (male, breeding plumage), Common Goldeneye and Pied-billed Grebe.

 

[solitaryVSong]

Another nice collection John.

 

[Nick Sinden]

The 2012 project is a real treasure...I always look forward to the next instalment so thanks for sharing it!

 

[tbbilbo]

I'm very partial to the goldfinch, John -one of my favorite birds.