Painting and drawing Savannah Sparrows...and our first Dark-eyed Junco of winter!

I painted these Savannah Sparrows last week for a guest post I did on the Birding is Fun blog. As a reference, I used sketches of the bird I drew from an outing in early spring. Since our summer sparrows are leaving us for their winter grounds, I thought it a great way to say good bye to them. Sparrows are always fun to watch. They are sweet, and their subtle shades of browns, grays, and caramels are restful to the eye and make them interesting to paint...

...a sweet Savannah Sparrow in an early spring meadow (watercolor).

Sparrows go about their business without flash. They flit through the grasses and make us work to see and identify them. This little Savannah Sparrow, however, was making it easy. He was singing heartily, perched on a tall and dried-out reedy stem of grass left over from winter. I saw this bird on March 24, 2012 at Armleder Park in Cincinnati, OH. The bird was one of a pair that took turns diving down to the ground, then fluttering back up to a perch. In the same field, two Vesper Sparrows were doing the same thing, although they were much more secretive and tended to stay a little lower in the weeds (click here for that post). Both species were returning migrants, and it was wonderful to welcome them back for the season...

...same Savannah Sparrow trying his best to fade away in a field of dead stalks and grasses (watercolor).

Pencil sketch of the Savannah Sparrow at Armleder Park (March 24, 2012)

Pencil sketch of the same Savannah Sparrow at Armleder. 

...and already it's time to say goodbye to these sweet summer sparrows, as winter sparrows have already arrived in Cincinnati. I've read reports of White-crowned Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows, but so far, none have shown up in our yard. It seems Pine Siskins are making appearances in Cincy too! I hope a few drop by our feeders. We do have a new visitor, however—our first Dark-eyed Junco of winter flashed his white tail feathers this past Saturday on October 27, 2012. Last year our first junco blew in on November 8, 2012 (click here for that post and watercolors of the junco), so we're ahead of the game!

Sketchbook entry of our first Dark-eyed Junco of the season (10-27-2012)

Armleder Park is on the east side of Cincinnati in Hamilton County and is a great place to bird. It's about 30 minutes from my house, so I don't get there as often as I'd like. A small paved trail loops through a weedy meadow, and you have canoe access to the Little Miami River as well (305 acres).

Savannah Sparrows singing in the meadow...and the warbler countdown begins!

Last Saturday I met Paul and Joe at Armleder Park in Cincinnati to photograph Midland Smooth Softshell turtles at the Little Miami River (about 30 miles south of where I usually walk the Little Miami), but in the huge meadow between the parking lot and the river, two species of returning migrants had already taken up residence...Savannah Sparrows and Vesper Sparrows! This pair of Savannah Sparrows looked very sparrow-ish in the tall grasses and took turns diving down to the ground and flitting here and there among the dead stalks left over from winter...

Two Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) perch in the large meadow at Armleder Park in Cincinnati. Vesper Sparrows were nearby, and Tree Swallows dipped and dived through the grasses before returning to the nest boxes set out along the trail.

A bubble of music floats

The slope of the hillside over;

A little wandering sparrow's notes;

And the bloom of yarrow and clover.

--Lucy Larcom

(as referenced in "Music of the Birds," by Lang Elliott)

I laughed when photographing these two. They were like little kids. "Could you both look at the camera at the same time, please?"

...maybe!

It's so fun to watch the summer birds arriving little by little. Soon the warblers start! This May I'm heading up to Magee Marsh and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory for the Biggest Week in American Birding! Finally...I'm going to see the spring warbler migration on Lake Erie. I'll be blogging there too (more posts about that soon). The warbler countdown begins!!

:-)

If you're headed to Lake Erie for spring migration let me know!

Click here for Biggest Week details.

A Savannah Sparrow chips in the High Meadow...

I was so happy when this little Savannah Sparrow flew up in front of me and perched within camera range. The wind was tossing him around, and it was fun to watch him hang on to the leaves. Although succession seems to be stealing a lot of the grassland away at VOA, enough of the High Meadow remains to keep the Savannah Sparrows around. I love their beautiful little faces and the yellow splashes behind their eyes...

...a Savannah Sparrow hunkers down against the wind and holds on tight! He's too sweet for words...

...the Savannah Sparrow gets his name from Savannah, Georgia--one of my favorite cities. No wonder I love this little bird. Alexander Wilson named this beautiful bird after Savannah because that's where he first found one in 1811 (click here for more info).

...the Savannah Sparrow is a newcomer to my town. According to "The Birds of Ohio," by Peterjohn, the first nesting pairs arrived in Cincinnati and Dayton in 1952. Previously they were only migrants in our area.

...in southwestern Ohio, Savannahs are locally distributed and not that common, but you can always find them at VOA Park (at least for the time being). Unfortunately, the park has stopped mowing the High Meadow due to lack of funding, and succession is rapidly changing the grassland environment, which is really sad because the VOA High Meadow is one of the few areas in our populated suburbs where grassland birds (including Henslow's Sparrows) can live.

...psssst...little Savannah...look under the leaf...lunch is waiting!

Savannah Sparrow in the High Meadow from Kelly Riccetti on Vimeo.

...this little Savannah Sparrow is tossed around in the breeze in the High Meadow at VOA Park in West Chester, Ohio. You can hear him chipping if you listen carefully. The louder call is of the American Robin in the tree behind me. (Probably saying something like, "look behind you...I'm here...forget about that little Savannah...Robins rule...I have an orange belly...and I'm bigger...look at me!).

Stylized Bird Paintings...for the challenge

Painting stylized birds was something new for me. My brother, Bill, and my son, Matty, are both cartoonists, and they can create the coolest iconic images, Rick can too, but realism always seems to flow out of my paintbrush and capturing a stylized image is hard for me, but this time, I tried to boil things down to symbols and let loose. It was fun!

Painting #42, Green Air Currents, Energy or Love Flowing Around Little Red Bird

Acrylic on Canvas Paper, 6"x12"

I love this painting. It makes me feel good when I look at it. I can feel all the swirls of energy and love. I'd be happy wearing this little guy on a t-shirt!

Painting #43, Red Air Currents, Energy, or Love Flowing Around Little Green Bird

Acrylic on Canvas Paper, 6"x12"

...love this one too. Little Green Bird has a lot of love around him. I'd be happy with this image on a t-shirt also...

Painting #44, A Cliché Stylized Bird in Flight...BUT it’s in the moonlight, and it’s migrating, so it’s okay.

(or...Bird Lit By the Light of the Silvery Moon in October)

Acrylic on Acrylic Paper, 9"x12"

Matty called me on this one. He said, "Mom, that bird in flight has been done so much. It's overused."

"I know..." I told him, "but....that's the point, the name of the piece is 'A Cliché Stylized Bird in Flight...BUT it's in the Moonlight, and it's Migrating, so it's Okay. (or...Bird Lit By the Light of the Silvery Moon in October).' "
"That's a long title," he said, "but I like it."
"Good...I just made it up."

Painting #45, The Berries are Right Behind You, Little Bird!

Acrylic on Acrylic Paper, 9"x12"

...totally symbolic. The berries represent creativity, and I'm the bird. I feel like creativity is lurking just behind me. I have to reach back there and grab the berries...I just can't see them yet. This painting took so may stages...at the end, I painted over it in a disgusting blue-green color that almost made me hurl, but quickly I grabbed the palate knife and scraped off the nastiness. This cool Little Red Bird popped out as I scraped away...along with the bright greens and yellows.

Painting #46, Stylized LBJ (but I think it's a Savannah Sparrow) in a Blaze of Autumn Color

Acrylic on Canvas Paper, 6"x12"

Do you see that Little Brown Jobbie in the middle of the field? I'm sure it's a Savannah...in a shadow.

Painting # 47, Für Sarah und Alyssa

Three Halloween Pumpkins and Three Little Black Birds in Pointy Witch Hats

Acrylic on Canvas Paper, 6"x12"

This painting is for my nieces in Germany, Sarah and Alyssa. They like to make their own decorations to decorate their house for Halloween. This painting is an idea for them. I can tell the stylized part was fading here...it doesn't work, but the girls will like it. Hi Sarah and Alyssa!!

The 100 Bird Paintings in a Year challenge continues. I've painted a lot over the past two weeks. If I can keep it up, I'll hit 100 paintings by December 31.

A Savannah Sparrow on goldenrod...in the evening's golden glow no less...

Two sweet little Savannah Sparrows played hide and seek with me among the sunshiney crowns of blooming goldenrod at VOA Park yesterday evening. They would pop up and fly a quick burst, frantically diving back into the grasses and goldenrod stalks, and only occasionally perching long enough for a glimpse of their golden faces made even lovelier by the sun’s golden evening light.

...unfortunately, this fellow was a little too far away for a great shot, but his charm definitely shows through in the wash of evening sunshine.

...temps dipped almost wickedly yesterday evening, and I was shivering while I snapped this shot. Illusions of an endless summer were suddenly cut short, and with all my efforts, I couldn't conjure any heat out of the radiant, warm yellow tones of the goldenrod blossoms...

...you are such a sweetie, and I'll definitely miss you when you decide you've had enough of autumn and head south for the winter.

...hopefully he has a home to return to next spring. The high meadow at VOA Park is falling prey to succession and the awful little Bradford Pear saplings are taking over...along with waves and waves of teasel, which is not choice habitat for Savannahs or my favorite little summer sparrow, the Henslow's Sparrow. They prefer grasses, and this summer the grasses were definitely in decline. Funds are thin in the Butler County park system, and there's not enough money to bushwhack or burn the fields.

...don't look south sweet little bird! I want you around a little longer...

East Fork Lake Birds

Yesterday Rick, Matty and I went to Rick’s parent’s house to celebrate an early Easter. They live in a wooded area near East Fork Lake, so while they were cooking, I grabbed the camera and slipped out the back door! As soon as I walked into the woods I heard that sweet call of an Eastern Phoebe and was able to fire off a quick shot before he flew deeper into the woods.

He was very patient, and I was able to get fairly close.

Then about 15 feet to the northeast I heard that cute little song of a Golden-crowned Kinglet. He was very busy in the tree, constantly moving and foraging and singing. He was a lot of fun to watch, and stayed around for quite a while!

I was happy the camera was able to pick up his little yellow crown!

He was very cute zipping all over the place with nonstop singing!

The kinglet was soon replaced by what I originally thought was a Savannah sparrow because of the short, notched tail and markings, but as I watched her I realized (or at least thought) she was a female Purple Finch. She was not singing at all (another clue), so I didn’t have a call to help with ID. She was very intent on devouring all the leaf buds. I didn’t have my binocs with me, so I couldn’t zoom in close enough to really see the details and the shape of the bill. I don’t get to see Purple Finches very often and when I do, I’m usually focused on the colorful males. After getting home and cropping the photos down, we can confirm this is a female Purple Finch.

She seems to have the striping on the face

of a female purple finch, but is it dark enough?

She seems to lack the stickpin of a Savannah Sparrow.

...and was really enjoying the buds!

I went back in and found I had 18 more minutes to bird, so this time, Matty went with me and we ducked out the front door and across the street to a pond where we found Ring-necked Ducks and then saw (and heard!) these two Wood Ducks flying away.

Someone on the other side of the pond had

flushed these two, so we were able to hear

that cry of theirs as they zoomed off!

...and a nice Mockingbird greeted us on our return.