At the Pond ... Feb 2017

My husband and I parked at a little pond near home and waited patiently for this heron to catch something.  Fortunately for me, the heron was more interested in just standing -- probably digesting already.  It have me a nice opportunity to sketch.

And then we parked in a slightly different spot at the same pond.  This time I sensed my husband wasn't going to stay put for long, so I sketched quickly.  

Great Blue Heron Project

Recently I have been working on a notebook project that required some portraits of a great blue heron, a green heron and a little blue heron.  I am just sharing the field sketches of the great blue heron and the finished great blue heron.  More details on the project are on my Blog: www.buroakbotanicals.blogspot.com

Great Blue Heron field sketches!

Great Blue Heron portrait.

Pond Sketches

Great Blue Heron

We have a little, city pond near us.  It's a busy place, full of kids feeding ducks, walkers, and even a skate board rink within ear shot; but I like it because of all the wildlife.  The resident birds are a little tamer than elsewhere and I get to sketch a wide variety of species.

More heron sketches and a soaring red-tailed hawk.

Two otter came along while we were watching .... an coot.

Great Blue Heron Sketches

Bandon Oregon, USA:  along the Coquille River estuary

Twice recently Dale and I have parked at a little pond just yards from the Coquille River estuary along the Oregon Coast.  While Dale patiently waits for a photographic opportunity, I have an opportunity to sketch.  It is a wonderful way to spend a winter day.

The first day at the pond, the weather was mellow.  During high tide the heron spent a couple of hours resting and preening.   Then he flew off to fish amongst the rocks in the estuary.  Great blue herons have a comb on their toe which helps them in the grooming process.

The second day was windy.  The heron fished in the little pond where the water was quiet.  Fishing was awfully slow, but that made for a good opportunity for us.

Recent Sketches

A few pilings still emerge from the water in an old log pond near me.  This heron was preening when I sat down to sketch him.  He spotted me immediately and kept a wary eye on me until someone else spooked him.  I never grown tired of sketching great blue herons.

By afternoon we were at the Oregon coast.  First I sketched yarrow along the rip rap at Bastendorf Beach and then I sketched an elephant seal flipping sand at Shell Island.  The sea lions that share the beach with the elephant seal never flip sand.  I've heard the elephant seals do it of get a little protection from the sun.   

Recent Sketches

The top sketch is of a new bald eagle nest in our area.  Actually this is the third year for this nest, but that in 'new' in the life of an eagle.  If all goes well a nest may be occupied each spring for years.

The black and white bird is a black phoebe -- a sweet little flycatcher that I watched hawking for little insects in a cattail marsh.  He sits, watches, then swoops out to catch an insect in midair.

A great blue heron slowly eases his way forward while fishing in a small pond.  While I sketched him an otter also came to the pond.  Often I find the real treasures happen when I'm sitting quietly and sketching.  

The heron is having none of this!  He quickly climbs up on shore and keeps an eye on the otter's meanderings.

Great blue Heron

A great blue heron perches on an old snag about thirty feet above the surface of a small pond. We parked to watch, sketch, and photograph and were treated to a variety of behaviors. Not only did he preen, but he coughed up a pellet and dropped his wings for several minutes in order to speed up the drying process. I assume he drenched his feathers while hunting.

For more about the heron go to my blog: www.elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com