Kestrel Sketch

Kestrel Sketch

Kestrel Sketch

Kestrels seemed to be everywhere on our recent birding trip to the California central valley and I plan to work on several paintings. Here is one sketch.

Long-eared Owl

Long-eared Owls are widespread over the North American continent. They eat small mammals and roost in dense trees. This one was seen in a vast open area in the Panoche Valley of California in a rare stand of trees in an oasis area.

Black Skimmer

While birding in Florida early in 2016 we came across a boat harbor. On one of the floats there were several Black Skimmers. They let me get surprisingly close. I put my camera down on the float and took this photo.

This bird has a shorter upper beak and uses its longer lower beak to skim the water for fish as it flies in long straight lines.

Black Oystercatcher

A fairly common oystercatcher of the West Coast of the United States. They are noisy and their bright orange beaks are easy to spot when they are on dark backgrounds. They feed on molluscs and crustaceans. They are often found on exposed, rocky shore working for food on the beds of the California Mussel which cover wave swept rocks.

Snowy Plover

This bird is a small plover that inhabits sandy beaches. In some areas populations of this species are threatened and conservation efforts are under way to increase their numbers. They are reasonably common in the Moneterey area of California. They are found over a large area spanning parts of North America, South America, Africa and Eurasia.

They are difficult to see and most people walk right by them because of their excellent camouflage. Often they rest in the footprints left by people walking on the beach.

California Thrasher

During the spring, this bird is very noisy, singing from trees and bush tops to make others aware of its territory or perhaps availability. Thrashers are members of the bird family Mimidae which includes mockingbirds and many know how noisy mockingbirds can be.

In the autumn, this bird is generally quiet and skulks around in dark edges of, forests or in heavy brush. This one came out in the open because the red berries shown in the photo are an inviting morsel.

Western Stone Nuthatch

As Floy has mentioned we have been away for about three weeks. Our trip through Southern Turkey was not a birding expedition, but I did what I could in the way of bird photography much to the chagrin of our fellow travelers. I tried not to hold up the group, but sometimes it was not easy.

Wherever we went that had stone ruins we would hear this strange call that sounded vaguely like a Canyon Wren. It took awhile to locate the source, but eventually I found it usually perched on the top of an ancient structure. It has big powerful claws and hangs vertically, high on stone faces. Meet the Western Stone Nuthatch found in a relatively narrow band from Croatia east to Iran.

Unfortunately I did not have my usual birding camera, so this photo will have to do.

Istanbul Travel

We recently returned from a trip to Turkey and this is one of the travel sketches I made in Istanbul. There was a small garden outside our hotel with pepper plants and laughing doves.

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Red-breasted Nuthatch

This perky little bird mostly works tree trunks searching for insects. They have a funny call that sounds like a high-pitched horn. They can walk up, down and sideways on vertical surface.

We saw many of this species at the Malheur Lake Visitors Center which is a a birding hot spot, especially during spring and fall migrations.

Mountain Bluebird

The Mountain Bluebird is one of my favorites. Where we normally see them, their surroundings are drab. So seeing one of these pastel-blue birds is a real eye opener. They are usually out in the open, but they are shy and do not let me approach for a close photo. This one was taken with a 400 mm telephoto lens on an overcast day.

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch are common in our yard and have been the subject of many of my paintings. They almost always appear in flocks and it is fun to design a composition around a group of birds together.

Lesser Goldfinch 14” x 14” acrylic on canvas

Lesser Goldfinch 14” x 14” acrylic on canvas