Black and White Warbler Pencil Sketch p90

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Magee Marsh is a great place to see migrant warblers in the spring. Our family tries to go there in the spring, but we also try to avoid the “Biggest Week of Birding” that overcrowds the place. I’m so behind on posting … Continued

Gray Treefrog Pencil Sketch p89

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Gray Treefrogs frequent our yard. Hearing their call always puts a smile on my face. These frogs like selecting protected areas to hide during the day. A favorite spot is the space between the top of our shed door and the drip cap … Continued

Crested Coua Pencil Sketch p88

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Crested Coua are spectacularly beautiful birds from Madagascar. In this case it was from the Toledo Zoo’s bird house. It fails a little as a pencil drawing because you miss the spectacular purples, pale blues and aqua colors around the eyes. This … Continued

Long-tailed Duck Pencil Sketch p87

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Long -tailed Duck is a bird that we don’t see too often in central Michigan, so it generates excitement when they do show up. I remember seeing them in fairly large numbers on Jones Beach on Long Island in the winter. My aunt and … Continued

Spectacled Eider Pencil Sketch p86

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Eiders are fascinating birds, and I’ve long wanted to paint them. Common Eiders are the only ones I’ve seen in the wild so far. Sadly, they were too far away for me to get a workable photograph. I’ve sketched a … Continued

Winter Black-bellied Plover Pencil Sketch, Watercolor and Time Lapse

This watercolor painting and pencil sketch of a Black-bellied Plover are from the stockpile of photos taken on last year’s trip to Florida with my brother Ted. The drawing is p84 from the sketchbook. I’m getting dangerously close to finishing … Continued

Winter Willet Pencil Sketch p83

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I saw my first Willet thanks to my friend Don Brown. While living in New Jersey years ago, I drove out to Jones Beach, Long Island, to go birding with him. Jones Beach is known for great winter birds, and … Continued

Pine Siskin Pencil Sketch p82

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Winter finches are always a welcome sight. After all the migrants trail off, it’s nice to see old friends at the feeders. Pine Siskins are fairly reliable. We get them at the feeders every year, though the quantity tends to vary dramatically. A finch … Continued

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Pencil Sketch p81

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Night-herons are undeniably neat creatures. I first came across them during trips to Florida when I was a grad student and assisting with a course called Ecology of the Everglades. I had a tough time picking which I liked better, the Yellow-crowned or Black-crowned. Typically, the … Continued