Field Sketching Around Cape May - Part Four

American Bittern in a Tree. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski

I think it's been three years since I've posted on field sketching in Cape May, NJ. As I recall we've been there in 2014 and 2015 but most likely I just didn't do enough field sketches to bother to show.

In any case this fall I made a more concerted effort, though based on what you see below that may be hard to believe. Over a total of six days I have only these few sketches, none of them very developed. There are a couple of reasons for this: birds didn't cooperate by standing still at a reasonably close distance, I was too busy trying to identify them, I was worried about my wife Jerene getting bored as I sketched or sometimes it was just too windy, too rainy, etc., etc.

One day gave great views of Ruddy Turnstone and other shorebirds on one of the jetties at Stone Harbor. But it had been a long day and it was time to leave. I figured that was alright as we'd just come back another day. But when we did there were no birds on jetty on either day. It was too windy on one day. And there were few birds on the other day. The Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher and hint of a Dunlin are from that day.

Field sketching though is a very rewarding experience. I'd say that more than half of the linocuts and woodcuts I've done are based on field sketches. A good number of recently sold prints and watercolors were as well. There is just so much more of a connection to your subject matter when you are sketching it live than when you are working from photos.

As I've written about this many times before I won't repeat myself, at least anymore than I already have. In the weeks and months that follow I'm sure I'll be showing some artwork based on these sketches. The Sora is the one that seems to be calling loudest at the moment.

American Oystercatcher and Dunlin. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski

Killdeer. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski

Laughing Gull. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Merlin. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Ruddy Duck and immature Peregrine Falcon. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Piping Plover and Tri-colored Heron. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Ruddy Turnstone and Snowy Egret. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.



Snowy Egret. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Sora. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Brush Pen Field Sketch by Ken Januski.

The Geese Before the Snow

Over 225 Snow Geese Flying Over Morris Arboretum. Photo by Ken Januski.

Snow Geese Flying Over Morris Arboretum. Photo by Ken Januski.

So I had a nice day out birding today, seeing a number of new birds for the year. When I got home I had a very late lunch and turned on the television to see a blizzard warning for New York City. Blizzard?! We're not exactly next door to NYC but close enough. How could the 1 inch that was predicted for us turn into 12-24 for New York? Well as soon as I investigated I saw that we were now expected to get 14-24 inches.

So I guess that may help to explain the flock of 750-1000 Snow Geese that I saw flying over Morris Arboretum today. I was still changing shoes in the back of the car talking to someone from the arboretum when we heard some squawking, a squawking that didn't sound right for Canada Geese. I grabbed my camera and binoculars which were still in back of car and not yet around my neck to take a quick look. In the next minute or two three large flocks flew by. The photo above shows that they are in fact Snow Geese. The top photo show just how many.

The top photo is part of what we thought was a flock of 200. But there are 229 birds in that photo and it's not the complete flock. So my guess is that we actually saw closer to 1000 Snow Geese.

Is their flight related to the upcoming storm? It's hard to say but it's a noticeable coincidence.

Merlin at Houston Meadows. Photo by Ken Januski.

Male Pileated Woodpecker at Houston Meadows. Photo by Ken Januski.

As I walked through Morris today I saw spots where I expect to see warblers and other spring migrants and breeders. That got me started thinking about spring. I do love the birds of spring. But I've also come to love the birds of winter, like Snow Geese, and Merlin, pictured above. Pileated Woodpeckers are here all year but they're often easier to see in winter. I like the photo above because it shows (though you may need to magnify it) the red on sides of the cheek of the male woodpecker.

Northern Pintail. American Black Duck and American Wigeon in Swan Pond at Morris Arboretum. Photo by Ken Januski.

Immature Red-shouldered Hawk at Houston Meadows. Photo by  Ken Januski.

Other birds more commonly seen in winter include ducks like the surprising Northern Pintail and American Wigeon joining the slightly less surprising American Black Duck and quite predictable Mallards in the Swan Pond at Morris today. Below them one of two beautiful Red-shouldered Hawks seen at Houston Meadows earlier in the week.

With such birds around right now it's hard to be anxious for spring and its birds to get here. Though I may have second thoughts depending on how large our next snow fall is.

Amidst all this winter birding I have continued work on my new reduction woodcut. Above is the first color printed on Rives Heavyweight paper. I still have 2-3 more colors to print. I had thought I could get by with just two, but I think I need to add another brown for the gold finch, and then a blue and a black. If I'm snowed in for the next few days I may make good progress, a term I confess I've never understood. What other kind of progress is there? Bad progress. Back before the world of business totally destroyed the English language that would have been called regression.

GBBC Day Two - Merlin, Kingfisher, Grackles

Merlin and Belted Kingfisher at Morris Arboretum. Watercolor by Ken Januski

A very overcast day today didn't make for a very inviting day two of the Great Backyard Bird Count. Still it was an opportunity to be out and about. I finally reached my 50th bird of 2013 in Philadelphia when I spotted my first Common Grackles of the year at Andorra Natural Area. Other than that though it was very quiet, almost as though the birds too decided it best to sleep in.

After Andorra I stopped briefly at nearby Morris Arboretum. When I small raptor in the large dead tree in front of where I parked my car I expected the familiar American Kestrel that has been frequenting the area. But it just didn't look right. Finally I realized that it was a Merlin. Species number 51.

It was also very quiet here, though that might have been partially due to the Merlin. It didn't seem to bother the Belted Kingfisher though, who was on the same large tree simultaneously with the falcon. The small 30 minute 5x7 inch watercolor above is based on field sketches and photos from that scene, rearranged to suit my artistic purposes.

Icterids are always a sign of spring. I assumed that I'd see Common Grackles one of these days. Another sign of spring was a singing Red-winged Blackbird at Morris. At one point they'll drown out all the other birds I'd rather hear but that time is still 4-6 weeks away. For now it's nice to hear their song.

And as usual it's nice to be out birding for GBBC. You never know what you'll see. I believe the Merlin is only the second I've ever seen in Philadelphia. I can't complain about seeing him either.