Study of a Sedge Wren in the High Meadow

Painting 110 - Sedge Wren in the High Meadow

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

You can't help but be held captive when watching this little bird. He sings and dives and then flies for a short burst...then dives again, then sings again just to let you know he's there, all the while making sure he stays well hidden among the tall grasses and stalks of meadow flowers! The first time I saw this fellow I definitely was riding a birding high. My adrenalin shot up so fast (I'm sure you know that birdie feeling!), and I was so excited. We are on the eastern-most range of this bird, which means we don't get to see him very often. If you look on our Cincinnati Bird List he's a "EEEE," which of course means he's hard to find; and "may not be present at all at this time in some years, but has occurred often enough to form a pattern." I was lucky enough to find him twice. Once on August 2, 2009 (post is here) and again on August 7, 2009. I got a few photos from both visits, but they were not great, so I decided to bring him to life with watercolor. During this summer and early fall I watched and listened for him every time I was in the High Meadow at VOA Park, but he never returned, which is predictable because that's his nomadic little modus operandi...

p.s. While painting this little guy I warmed the colors in his plumage up just a bit because he holds a warm spot in my heart (and that's how I see him in my mind's eye). He's a little more faded in reality (you can see that in the photos I posted here).

...more paintings for the challenge

Painting 108 - Northern Cardinal at Dusk

Watercolor, 12x16 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

I saw this male cardinal at our local park. It was very cold and evening was starting to close in. He had puffed his feathers up for warmth and was strikingly beautiful against the dark winter sky. He is the same bird that shows up in painting three (Radioactive Cardinal) and in this post, but I painted him in a much looser style (I also darkened the sky...).

Painting 107 - Chiggy by Starlight

Watercolor, 7x10 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

One evening a week or so ago I stocked the feeders around 9:00 p.m. anticipating a very cold morning with a covering of snow. It was so cold, and I was thinking about the little birds and how they were going to survive the long, cold night ahead. Birds have so many adaptations that help them foil the coldest of colds, but I still wondered if everyone was tucked in tight and ready to wait it out. It was nearly a full moon and the moon's light reflected off the snow in that quiet blue way that only happens deep in winter when the snow is thick on the ground. Stars swept across the sky and the immensity caused me to linger. Beauty is soft at night so it's always good to pause to take it all in, but my fingers were starting to protest so I had to move on, but before I went in "Chiggy by Starlight" popped into my head. I went inside and painted him, going over his white feathers with a fine-tipped white marker, hoping to capture the feel of the moon's glow...and the cold of the night.

Painting 106 - Green Topiary With One Red Bird Above and One Below

Watercolor, 9x12 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

Summer heat was in mind as I painted this fun and quick painting (lots and lots of green to counteract the gray that descends in our area midwinter). It's a strange style for me, and it might be more art therapy than anything. The painting started as a watercolor and morphed into a watery acrylic. Along the way I carved a leaf stamp in an eraser (idea from Laure's blog) and stamped it all over using green acrylic paint. I then ran water over it to spread everything out. It makes me think of art I remember seeing as a child in the Swinging 60s, baby.

Painting 105 - Hummer Light

Watercolor, 6x8 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

"Hummer Light" makes me happy--it's quick and sloppy with a feel of the moment. It's all watercolor--no sketching and probably created in under a minute. I really miss our hummers...they are nothing but watery memories right now...

Painting 104 - Sedgie in the High Meadow

Watercolor, 6x12 Arches Cold Pressed 140 lb Paper

I almost called this painting "Bad Sedgie" because of the Sedge Wren's annoying habit of diving into the cover of grass instead of sitting out in the open to be photographed. If you look in the bottom-right corner of the painting you can see a tiny Sedge Wren perched where he most often perches--nearly out of sight. I conjured this painting out of a memory from a sunny day in August of 2009 when a Sedge Wren visited VOA Park (he's never been back--post is here). Can you tell I'm missing the sun...and the green...and the flowers? Painting is an easy way to bring it back. Right now I'm working on a more detailed portrait of this little Sedge Wren. It should be finished soon.

I went out looking for molting Bobolinks, but found a Sedge Wren instead…not a bad tradeoff!

Sunday evening found me at VOA park walking the clipped grass aisle of the high meadow. There was a cool chill in the air more reminiscent of September than the first of August, and as I shivered just a bit, I heard the chatty little song of a Sedge Wren just to the right of the grass path. I also heard two Henslow’s Sparrows in the same area, but I knew they were not popping up any time soon, so I stalked the Sedge Wren instead, narrowing in on him with each repetition of his little song. He would sing, and move…and sing and move, and suddenly, there he was! I fired off a few quick shots, but he had a very annoying habit of diving back down into the grass and perching near the base of the vegetation (bad little Sedgie!).

A very sweet bird, and a bit of a rarity around here.

The grassland habitat at VOA park brings in so

many birds lost to the never ending suburban sprawl.

Thank goodness little pockets of protected land exist

so we can get a glimpse of these cute birds.

This little guy is cute—no other word will do to describe his choppy, spritely little movements. Short bursts of flight always carried him to his next perch, where he would sing, peer here and there, and then dive back down in the grass to hide from the camera.

"Hmm...that stalk over there looks nice. I had

better head over and claim it. Then I'll dive back

into the grass to annoy the camera chick."

Little Sedgie hiding in the grass where he spent

most of his time. A perfect little grassland bird, he

completely melds with his environment.

Beak Bit
We are on the eastern-most range of this little bird. Sedge Wrens are also very nomadic, so they don’t always return to the same nesting grounds; therefore, we don’t always get to see them. So this little fellow is special. They can also be late nesters, so our singing male, may be setting up shop and advertising for a female. I hope so! I’ll keep returning to see if more Sedge Wrens have located in the high meadows at VOA. In the Great Plains, Sedge Wrens nest earlier, breeding in May or June. Jim McCormac, in his book “Birds of Ohio,” offers an explanation for our later-nesting birds, “It’s possible that there is a postbreeding dispersal of western birds to the east, where they nest again when midwestern habitats are more conducive to successful breeding.”

Click here for more information on the Sedge Wren, including his song.