Winter is a good time to watch and sketch birds, so this sketchbook tour will be full of birds. There is little else going on here at the moment, we had quite a bit of snow that’s thawing now, and anything more than walks in the neighborhood is out of the the question. Hope you enjoy this sketchbook tour.
Here is a video version of this post:
Winter Sketchbook Tour (January/February 2021) – Birds and more (video)
We have a large family of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) living in the garden bushes here, and they’re always very social, loud and chirpy. I never get tired of these little guys, and I love sketching them. They may be my favorite garden birds. They are also dominate the feeders, chasing away smaller birds like blue tits and robins (there are a lot of feeders so all birds get enough food in the end).
I was reading up on some of the ornaments and architectural details of a church we visited in summer, and I fell into a research hole and ended up sketching green men. These leaf ornaments are often part of church portals, ceilings or present at the end of columns, and they are remnants of the pagan demons that the early Christian church builders included in a lot of places. I love the variety and the ornamental quality and tried sketching some green men.
I spotted a Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) right next to our door step – it’s a rare sight and I hope this little bird made it through the cold spell. These smallest European birds only weigh 4-7 grams, and they need to eat almost their entire body weight in insects each night in winter to survive.
More regular garden visitors – blue tits (Parus caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major), and a kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) that sat on a tree in a local city park. I think except for the great tit none of the garden regulars are part of my bird sketching class, maybe I should fix this.
On some days I only have time for very quick cloud sketches.
The wood pigeons (Columba palumbus) are also every day visitors here, I love their beautifully colored plumage. They look even more massive in cold weather, all fluffed up.
In January it started snowing, and that always means fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) will come to the gardens and eat the rest of the apples. No redwings this year. Every winter, I’m thinking about how I can sketch snowflakes. So far, taking photos of them on a cold metal plate seems to work nicely.
Jays (Garrulus glandarius) also visit us on occasion – last year I removed several little trees that grew out of “hidden” acorns in my flowerpots, all of them forgotten by the jays.
Another visitor I don’t see every day in the garden are long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus). These little fluff balls also operate in groups and they communicate all the time with soft chirps. I love their yellow eye lid and the slightly rosy feathers on the back and belly. These are definitely very cute birds.
A random page with clouds.
More sparrows and a blackbird (Turdus merula). They are on maximum floof, we had below -10° C for over a week and the birds were either sitting there waiting for the sun or shredding through the feeders. I thought a lot about that little goldcrest, I hope he survived.
A new addition to my bird sightings (I don’t keep lists, do you?) is this grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea). This beautiful bird was hopping through the water in a park nearby, and I noticed it’s rosy chest and the yellow vent area, and the very long tail that was always moving up and down – typical wagtail behaviour. The reference books mostly show adult birds with a full yellow belly, but the internet confirmed this is a juvenile grey wagtail. They are not rare birds, I’ve just never seen one before now, so that made me very happy.
That’s it for this sketchbook tour – definitely more birds than in any other season. That’s one part of winter I really enjoy.
Love the way your birds look so alive – as if ready to move from where they are. In my drawings they look static, stiffened. I wonder what I should do to make the images “alive”.
Thank you Linda! Static or stiff drawings are usually due to overworking the drawing – this happens to me too when I want to get everything right and focus on details from the very beginning. Then the linework and painting part end up very tight. Without seeing your drawings, I’d say try to focus on big shapes first and keep your pencil lines loose and light. And of course it’s a matter of practice. Hope that helps, let me know if something isn’t clear.
Julia, I have watched the last couple of years how your skill has developed and I am really impressed. Your attention to detail without overworking is amazing.
Lee
Enjoyed tremendously all your bird drawings. I got into birding about 5 years ago and do a yearly challenge to keep record of what I see in my NY area. Prior to covid I was also able to travel out of the states to other countries something I’ve always loved but not always with the birding focus but always with nature. Since covid I’m giving myself the opportunity to do some nature sketching. Thanks for putting out these videos I do find them quite inspiring.
Do you have any suggestions when just beginning with sketching or a book that has some basics. Thanks Julia Best Joyce