tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74370004084004737742024-02-18T19:25:44.104-08:00The Scolopax chroniclesTales from a Kent Wildlife artistMike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-18285941756250734052014-09-24T04:18:00.002-07:002014-09-24T04:18:56.854-07:00Exciting news!<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">I am
very happy to say that I have had three paintings accepted into the
Society of Wildlife artists' annual exhibition 'The Natural Eye' at the
Mall Galleries in London. The exhibition runs from Thursday 30th October
until Sunday 9th November. It's a great show which features some of the
very best wildlife artists. I've made a point of going to see it for
years now and I've never been disappointed. I feel very honoured to have
had my work accepted and, for me, it is an ambition realised. Well
worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.</span>Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-48650834063000589932014-07-04T07:30:00.001-07:002014-07-04T07:44:48.766-07:00Facebook pageI have started a Facebook page for my wildlife art, there's not much on it yet but I'll be posting bits and pieces over the next few days.<br />
<br />
If anybody who reads this occasional blog would like to pop over and give the page a like I'd be grateful!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T3RV3rlSqLqcAk-TU6c1EaA8ssD3axEiorLyDmuKDlMuYzEB9Q0ICCOsoGQjvbkjYUsk0lqOftXhopHPXfaD49MTDWAWG7UqgS0BVjdDJNBm2KyYa-cI6PR5KRlR4_IYR05mRNnkrj1r/s1600/facebook+page+header+screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T3RV3rlSqLqcAk-TU6c1EaA8ssD3axEiorLyDmuKDlMuYzEB9Q0ICCOsoGQjvbkjYUsk0lqOftXhopHPXfaD49MTDWAWG7UqgS0BVjdDJNBm2KyYa-cI6PR5KRlR4_IYR05mRNnkrj1r/s1600/facebook+page+header+screenshot.jpg" height="134" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/wildlifeart1" target="_blank"> https://www.facebook.com/wildlifeart1</a></div>
<br />Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-45773021512079338862014-05-13T06:18:00.001-07:002014-05-13T06:18:20.846-07:00A bit of a tangentI love to paint birds. I was once asked in an interview with a local newspaper 'Why birds? What's the attraction?". I have to admit that I'd never really thought about it before then, I just painted birds. There are of course several reasons for why I paint birds, they are a subject that I know pretty well, they are available subjects to gather reference for, they are a popular subject for buyers and collectors etc, etc. But the main reasons are that birds are simply beautiful and their behaviours are fascinating to watch.<br />
<br />
Every now and then though I like to go off at a bit of a tangent and paint other subjects, always rooted in the natural world, I have no interest in painting cars or steam trains for example, but not always birds. I have had a hankering to paint a bull for a long while as I often come across these magnificent animals on my travels. So, a while ago I took a day out to paint this fellow, 'One horn'. I chose to paint him on a fairly large scale, hoping to do him justice as the beautiful beast he was and I wanted to let a bit looser with the oil paints too. He was great fun to paint, I particularly enjoyed his fleshy eye and the way the hair curled over the muscles in his neck.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPdzyABWg1NqPoh4hisV-rNCjZYGQXxUOkKwFnNcGaZo7kH55Zv4YuuA_iBsrTTqLctQ1vReR90Er8-5KXGy83UzPxHUFDfRUeusVsAGwYq7L0R1qQNyB5r3niPFMeB5uF9DZbC0-PaxQ/s1600/Limousin-portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPdzyABWg1NqPoh4hisV-rNCjZYGQXxUOkKwFnNcGaZo7kH55Zv4YuuA_iBsrTTqLctQ1vReR90Er8-5KXGy83UzPxHUFDfRUeusVsAGwYq7L0R1qQNyB5r3niPFMeB5uF9DZbC0-PaxQ/s1600/Limousin-portrait.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Limousin Portrait</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oil on canvas board</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">approx 24"x18"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes, whilst out birdwatching, I will come across scenes that just have to be captured. Like this landscape for instance. This is a scene from Oare Marshes nature reserve. It is looking back towards Uplees from a point on the Swale known as Dan's Dock, which was a jetty used for an old and very much defunct tile and brick works.</span></span> This scene was captured on a day when the light was pretty grey and fairly flat but it was so evocative of so many scenes on the coastal marshes around the area that I live that I couldn't resist.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVoQLwSdrV9CzSpN2s3PGmObWTZsy5ulmGZaSq2KwccMyvZfdcCQLpmUSqJQTXVqa8aHqA2vvfv8simuAPsWXkZ1hKDsTjYPF3FQ3EfuvrocQM4QbzyiPAzib2-LHjCiD49t94vGaXrNKc/s1600/Oare-landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVoQLwSdrV9CzSpN2s3PGmObWTZsy5ulmGZaSq2KwccMyvZfdcCQLpmUSqJQTXVqa8aHqA2vvfv8simuAPsWXkZ1hKDsTjYPF3FQ3EfuvrocQM4QbzyiPAzib2-LHjCiD49t94vGaXrNKc/s1600/Oare-landscape.jpg" height="227" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Towards Uplees from Dan's Dock</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oil on MDF</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">approx 8"x10"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are times when the light is just gorgeous, and so many miss it because it is too early on a Sunday morning for most people to be up out of their cozy beds</span>. I love the early mornings though, and partly for that very reason. I need the solitude and the freshness of the air to recharge and revitalise. Some mornings before the sun gets high into the clear skies of spring, it sends its rays slanting through the fresh grass sparking the greens into yellow and outlining everything with blazing light. It was on a morning like this that I spotted this Gypsy Cob standing still and quiet in a field where the sun's light caught in all the hair hanging on the shaggy beast, surrounding it with a glowing halo.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNU8Qex8xUO3qwWkWiDtjE5EfQWXP_gGTTGN-11vmWhsB2wA2LWYBPfGfdlp6FW_VQDyAa_pAatlSBBjN0QctDEoow3iFaBCbkCSuW6gSgwngwtH_z4HoIcO_DnQRj4IlaqUiHkswlDuX/s1600/gypsy-horse-low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNU8Qex8xUO3qwWkWiDtjE5EfQWXP_gGTTGN-11vmWhsB2wA2LWYBPfGfdlp6FW_VQDyAa_pAatlSBBjN0QctDEoow3iFaBCbkCSuW6gSgwngwtH_z4HoIcO_DnQRj4IlaqUiHkswlDuX/s1600/gypsy-horse-low.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gypsy Cob</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oil on MDF</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">approx 12"x9"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">But, in the end I will always come back to the birds.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hv3s0nGCNgAcg785noQKtGj4crLvyhXhm6BJJNSaIQQsySXcfpBzspgJpV1MXkxxOaLfuSSMqboqSgkB_-2eHt-XmKiHLud3DumTbljHMctYznF5RjJGuiin7jYuFqU-tvovVWMVfCpA/s1600/moorhe-and-the-speck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hv3s0nGCNgAcg785noQKtGj4crLvyhXhm6BJJNSaIQQsySXcfpBzspgJpV1MXkxxOaLfuSSMqboqSgkB_-2eHt-XmKiHLud3DumTbljHMctYznF5RjJGuiin7jYuFqU-tvovVWMVfCpA/s1600/moorhe-and-the-speck.jpg" height="106" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Moorhen and the Speck</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oil on MDF</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">approx 13"x6"</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-82711742776581100672014-02-04T05:49:00.003-08:002014-02-04T05:49:55.863-08:00Recently I have been tackling oil painting and, in order to get a proper grip of the techniques and processes involved I have been painting quite a lot of small study type pieces before tackling something larger or more compositionally considered.<br />
<br />
One of these pieces is this 10"x8" of a male House Sparrow feeding on seeds on the top of a wall. I have a hankering to paint a whole group of Sparrows hopping about together and this is just for me to get a first feel for the idea. Incidentally, the collective noun for Sparrows is actually 'Host' so I should say a 'Host of Sparrows' which makes them sound rather like Angels! I like that idea.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSAJPpix_r0y-9bdVikBk2qMZir6Tpz7BX47CS-7lIkjQ2o-6ApGEm8d0O8IEPFBOpxN6pucHuui1ZNHE3bm-ebGxrEzZ4c8mfU8aXAlMxvdpJK0kGK0izrZlDIy89w8mtc73pyBTbbCd/s1600/sparra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGSAJPpix_r0y-9bdVikBk2qMZir6Tpz7BX47CS-7lIkjQ2o-6ApGEm8d0O8IEPFBOpxN6pucHuui1ZNHE3bm-ebGxrEzZ4c8mfU8aXAlMxvdpJK0kGK0izrZlDIy89w8mtc73pyBTbbCd/s1600/sparra.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Jo over at <a href="http://henderson-jo.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/painting-sunday-drink-burned-food.html" target="_blank">'A scent of chocolate'</a> was confused as the the bird's identity. Fair enough I thought, although she's a nature lover, she's not a birdwatcher so I enlightened her. We then got into a discussion about the colour of the Sparrow's breast and belly area. She said that she didn't remember a British bird like that and it turns out that what was causing the confusion was that she was seeing a bird with blue feathers whereas I was seeing a bird with grey feathers. <br />
<br />
I thought it might have been a monitor problem and told her, jokingly, that she might want to adjust hers, but she tried viewing it on different screens and saw the same thing on all three so she asked; 'The bird isn't blue so why did you paint it that way?'<br />
<br />
The file I posted was a photograph of the painting that I took when it was first completed because, obviously I couldn't scan it with still wet paint. This has, admittedly, caused a slightly blueish colour cast over the whole thing which probably hasn't helped the issue but it's not too far off. She asked others to comment on the colour of the bird and it seems that some agree with her saying that the bird is blue. By the way, can we ignore what someone described as the 'puky' <i>(sic)</i> green in the background! I plan to use something different for the bigger piece because I agree that the grey green isn't going to work, (which is one of the reasons for doing these little prep studies).<br />
<br />
Now, green issues aside, all this set me thinking so I did a little experiment.<br />
<br />
Using photoshop I investigated the colour breakdown on the photo. The actual colour breakdown of the bird's chest and belly area is, on average, around 50% cyan (blue) and 50% magenta (red). So the colour of the pic is essentially a purple/blue. A Sparrow's chest and belly feathers are generally described as simply 'grey'. This obviously varies with individuals and our perception of the 'colour' will vary with factors such as the environment, the ambient and direct lighting around the subject, whether the feathers are wet or dry and so on.<br />
<br />
So why <i>did</i> I paint the bird that colour?<br />
<br />
I don't use black in my paintings, it's just too flat and it tends to 'kill' any life in the painting so the grey tones (strictly speaking grey is achromatic) created using just black and white can be very 'flat' looking. To combat this effect I, in common with many other artists, use a combination of Ultramarine blue and Burnt umber (brown) to create my 'black'. Once I start adding white to this mix I get 'greys' which are inevitably blue or red tinted (cool or warm). In general, shadow areas tend towards being cooler so my natural inclination is to lean towards the blue when painting them. I do sometimes use a touch of Dioxazine purple for shadows but, as I didn't in this instance, we'll leave that for some other time.<br />
<br />
I think what it boils down to is; the bird is 'grey', the paint used to represent that 'grey' is blue, red and white. If you know the local colour of a thing then that's the colour you will see.<br />
<br />
So my question would probably be: Why <i>wouldn't</i> I paint it that colour?<br />
<br />
It's all about perception. Take a look at the work of an artist that I consider to be a master; <a href="http://sosa2.com/Birds/index2.php">http://sosa2.com/Birds/index2.php</a> Check out the Rock Ptarmigans in the lower left corner. Not one of these birds is white. They are a glorious mix of purple, blue, pink and yellow cream, and yet it's perfectly obvious that they are 'white' birds.<br />
<br />
What colour is snow? It's white isn't it? Have a look at another Sosa painting:<a href="http://sosa2.com/Birds/index5.php" target="_blank"> http://sosa2.com/Birds/index5.php</a> 'Woodcock II'. This snow is blue, purple, lilac, yellow, pink, but the colour you perceive overall is still 'white' because you know that snow is white.<br />
<br />
Here's another one, take a look at my Peregrine painting, 'Commanding presence', from a while ago. On a Peregrine's head is a 'hood' of dark grey, its chest and belly are a creamy 'white' (once again this is a generalisation). But because of the way the sunlight affects our perception of colour I have used the same dark blue for the part of the bird's head that is in the light and the part of the bird's body that is in shadow and yet I hope that this conveys a sense of the light rather than indicating that the local colour is blue in either case.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytAMNOLFmjEAH67r94QFLbRF2k_W9vLWcS_Ptwn5Vhrd0KMxcVWEy7kPz74TLLVytJulyBkG5rmBar07wTqXES_J06wkIhd7I9B_zOEunLyw96S52lU66zepp6aIAxz1StVB-1RJhWa9B/s1600/commpres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytAMNOLFmjEAH67r94QFLbRF2k_W9vLWcS_Ptwn5Vhrd0KMxcVWEy7kPz74TLLVytJulyBkG5rmBar07wTqXES_J06wkIhd7I9B_zOEunLyw96S52lU66zepp6aIAxz1StVB-1RJhWa9B/s1600/commpres.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
<br />
There's tons of 'stuff' that's been written about colour, some of it fanciful, some of it scientific, some of it, I'm sure, is utter nonsense, and some of it, I'm equally sure, makes perfect sense. Somewhere in the back of my head when I'm painting I'm probably aware of everything I've read and everything I've seen about all this 'stuff' but in the end I just go with what feels right to me and, as an artist, that's surely the way it should be?Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-27582653503555064222013-07-02T08:47:00.003-07:002013-07-02T08:47:12.804-07:00The first day of SummerI had wondered if we would see anything of Summer in June this year following the endless, wet, grey ‘Spring’. But on the very last day of June the Summer began. I was off out to Elmley early to make the most of it. My Mother has been in hospital for the last three weeks, (thankfully she is back at home now), so I have not been able to go out on my usual trip and I needed to reconnect with the wide open spaces and the wildlife that lives there. It really is good for the soul and a great help as an antidote to the stress that comes with a loved one who is unwell.<br /><br />One thing always striking on the marshes is the sky, it is a big sky. One that runs uninterrupted overhead, a massive dome of the endless. In the clean blue of a Summer’s day the sky dazzles and makes you giddy with a kind of inverse vertigo as you turn your face to the breathtaking space above.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoHn6GsD3rYG4ETp-3jaZby4euyf50ZZUCbxMru3Yj6C6uCyibE5YJyWB8nzOH8L5R1Iya8uxHR2jOTmyzbC8S96s7IgDuuSg-RwG_D8hBS5lR_tI0vTioEY-vihMnBqO7_0ownoLgG7x/s600/thesky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoHn6GsD3rYG4ETp-3jaZby4euyf50ZZUCbxMru3Yj6C6uCyibE5YJyWB8nzOH8L5R1Iya8uxHR2jOTmyzbC8S96s7IgDuuSg-RwG_D8hBS5lR_tI0vTioEY-vihMnBqO7_0ownoLgG7x/s320/thesky.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The wide, blue sky</i></span></div>
<br />The long awaited warmth has brought the marshes to life with insects and butterflies. Small tortoiseshells are everywhere, there are six visible in this photo.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Vz_L9cGbend1fmlbZIGHQlFl5ZCBGElzPh-QiNfPFHkAYtX05RS2Gia2H_c5f0_OaeWkD_iggJp-EuPqXyJlyPWLAtxWdrGowQqvx1xQycdf87aflLMiUR6hHKsjI_Mkm-DyWywydRUR/s600/6tortoiseshells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Vz_L9cGbend1fmlbZIGHQlFl5ZCBGElzPh-QiNfPFHkAYtX05RS2Gia2H_c5f0_OaeWkD_iggJp-EuPqXyJlyPWLAtxWdrGowQqvx1xQycdf87aflLMiUR6hHKsjI_Mkm-DyWywydRUR/s320/6tortoiseshells.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Six <span style="font-size: x-small;">Small Tortoiseshells</span></i></span></div>
<br />
I count myself lucky to be able to see sights like this because, contrary to appearances, these beautiful butterflies, like so many others, have suffered a huge and worrying decline in recent years. When photographing butterflies I find myself utterly focused on the beguiling beauty of the star of the show and it is not until later, when I review the pictures, that I often discover a supporting cast of creatures, equally interesting but not always as showy as the velvet winged wonders at centre stage.<br />The first photo here has a buff-tailed bumble bee busying itself on a thistle bloom and in the second is a hoverfly. Of course Small tortoiseshells were not the only butterflies about, there were Whites, Meadow Browns and Common Blues too.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrsPHWF05Pqg4WPzZPcTWrxAzh0MwbBEqtlzbwOi366lqGYoqZdhfIcHRg57hgb9MVdTp38hAbj5egX7xajhAkbvh3WAeOP2WI1a_mnTaerfTNXUPmA04oon4FCh0bFuHcl77Lu9QZkQL/s609/tortbee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrsPHWF05Pqg4WPzZPcTWrxAzh0MwbBEqtlzbwOi366lqGYoqZdhfIcHRg57hgb9MVdTp38hAbj5egX7xajhAkbvh3WAeOP2WI1a_mnTaerfTNXUPmA04oon4FCh0bFuHcl77Lu9QZkQL/s320/tortbee.jpg" width="315" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Buff Tailed Bumblebee</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBjRL18i_YtIeb-fsYjEcSx9v_eu3daANkJs5Q2SvZjFBtvZIeR2pHK0AcsvHFxDhm8CqAqgWoLkIqeiZ_T3ecaUItwclIZyZ2uG-Jf_AMmeGRHPVVXM04uW2NYCfWMTaZSOxM0w_EMIx/s662/torthover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBjRL18i_YtIeb-fsYjEcSx9v_eu3daANkJs5Q2SvZjFBtvZIeR2pHK0AcsvHFxDhm8CqAqgWoLkIqeiZ_T3ecaUItwclIZyZ2uG-Jf_AMmeGRHPVVXM04uW2NYCfWMTaZSOxM0w_EMIx/s320/torthover.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hoverfly</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The Summer sun has also brought other creatures out of hiding, cold blooded ones that need the sun’s rays to warm them and make them active. I saw this shining copper and bronze beauty crossing the track, taking extra warmth from the heated stones. When I was a young boy slow worms were plentiful and I would regularly catch them and release them just for the fun of doing so. I once took one home and secreted it in a drawer in my bedroom. I suppose I should have realised that it would simply climb out and make its escape but I was young and that the poor creature would even think of doing such a thing didn’t even occur to me. I first knew that this one had done just that when my Mum, who is not a big fan of reptiles, came hurtling down the hallway the following morning shouting about a snake that she had found snuggled up under her dressing gown on the chair beside her bed... Sorry Mum.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nBK8A2dG2J4FRJr_Wu0uO0vKv9F6vrz09lGIZEik-aFRrxa_o6NUbrLREfTl9olk07PLgGTSsqnFcVThks-fz6Obc4GaYHY3HsnXYkIsztxIUwG8RJInNm-5m-qYKGGyVgZCiawwbqJT/s600/sloworm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nBK8A2dG2J4FRJr_Wu0uO0vKv9F6vrz09lGIZEik-aFRrxa_o6NUbrLREfTl9olk07PLgGTSsqnFcVThks-fz6Obc4GaYHY3HsnXYkIsztxIUwG8RJInNm-5m-qYKGGyVgZCiawwbqJT/s320/sloworm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Slow worm</i></span></div>
<br />These days, on the rare occasions when I do see slow worms, I prefer just to watch and photograph them while they go about their business undisturbed. Besides which, I have discovered that I’m not as quick as I used to be but the slow worms are still just as fast. Although this one was obvious on the grey stone of the track, once he wriggled into the grass it was easy to see just how effective his camouflage was.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zh5dEPDfmTTezOMy1fjYqhEH4negY3mNaDNpXgAzGxMjwTFxU_CvZgoy4AZRvMstBkDC2dXaywlvHNQDkS9FIhnER19psV3ngJcIrqNRFA1_jJKQFSYQ7B8FjOZFPQE-xsw9kNe40pOu/s600/slowormcamo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zh5dEPDfmTTezOMy1fjYqhEH4negY3mNaDNpXgAzGxMjwTFxU_CvZgoy4AZRvMstBkDC2dXaywlvHNQDkS9FIhnER19psV3ngJcIrqNRFA1_jJKQFSYQ7B8FjOZFPQE-xsw9kNe40pOu/s320/slowormcamo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>How a Slow worm disappears</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Close inspection of the grass stems revealed yet more beauty in the shape of Damselflies. I’m afraid that my ID skills are limited when it comes to these fine insects so if anybody out there with greater knowledge than I would care to tell me what I have here I would be grateful. Whatever they are, they are certainly beautiful and elegant and great fun to discover. The Damselfly’s bigger cousins, Dragonflies, have been scarcer this year too although there are some about if you look hard enough.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNt-bcIzNQF1bTm-RhMlrugnKLullhAvzEGwyefchIAtM2qibJzM-DSgCLg-aGo6EOwv4BE6nxmDiACb-uYRVXLkJYA7beFhyphenhyphen46doYqQG_DseOiE2bwtwSaoUk8MJG9dzsH3nkGf7LpRw/s752/damsel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNt-bcIzNQF1bTm-RhMlrugnKLullhAvzEGwyefchIAtM2qibJzM-DSgCLg-aGo6EOwv4BE6nxmDiACb-uYRVXLkJYA7beFhyphenhyphen46doYqQG_DseOiE2bwtwSaoUk8MJG9dzsH3nkGf7LpRw/s320/damsel1.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbT5nSogD8AkFsBVVv3ldb0Xmf2dmDox1eM31Zrz5hn3xr6slY5Xevt_ARttEIHnhTRxkYR4RB3V72CUPudKb0LoZ2iVplLKRh_IwXB6hFIo_3wS0tjg0Vv2knnd42jixzp2ggl9bliEF/s889/damsel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbT5nSogD8AkFsBVVv3ldb0Xmf2dmDox1eM31Zrz5hn3xr6slY5Xevt_ARttEIHnhTRxkYR4RB3V72CUPudKb0LoZ2iVplLKRh_IwXB6hFIo_3wS0tjg0Vv2knnd42jixzp2ggl9bliEF/s320/damsel2.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCUuCOOF4Lx49rS1wwzyh0y4BQH_bl4vOkxl3HtScaE8iykIh_zZcmsHZkLBW7ry2dr2f-gB9cihyphenhyphenGkB1UbRkThyphenhyphenP7HlfW1JBydtOM2Hnmb-SnuU42DD1MmQHl8dZCZ9qcsCGk_atquxj/s885/damselsmating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCUuCOOF4Lx49rS1wwzyh0y4BQH_bl4vOkxl3HtScaE8iykIh_zZcmsHZkLBW7ry2dr2f-gB9cihyphenhyphenGkB1UbRkThyphenhyphenP7HlfW1JBydtOM2Hnmb-SnuU42DD1MmQHl8dZCZ9qcsCGk_atquxj/s320/damselsmating.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwwFwNvqswocsnZZ6rDB5IVv-klT6ktt9GdTnEzu4RwSLHM_v9mtz9BKRLZR3_rOSyQ6KHJcmhAJMCUpHV0jgmD389D_w6-6hinP-Zh3714wGXZZIR3qtrA115KjNiVpXG4yM87KBvliS/s600/dragon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwwFwNvqswocsnZZ6rDB5IVv-klT6ktt9GdTnEzu4RwSLHM_v9mtz9BKRLZR3_rOSyQ6KHJcmhAJMCUpHV0jgmD389D_w6-6hinP-Zh3714wGXZZIR3qtrA115KjNiVpXG4yM87KBvliS/s320/dragon1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />For all the distractions of insects and reptiles I go to Elmley primarily for the birdlife and I decided to stop on a spot on the seawall where I had a view over the marsh and I could find a subject for sketching. The sun was so hot that I had to put my scrim net scarf over my head to protect the back of my neck from burning. This had the added benefit of helping to keep some of the mossies away too but, as you can see from this photo by my friend Andy, it didn’t look too glamorous!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPorkzAYnbSEJ-hGb7flnx9O7vJBcQ_sK77X-q3SX5CQalQhwVq1CCmy9D2h-su0G2q06ICTe4CGwZHqkUS1bl3I38naBNKKgd4aFgwWyXyGuHkSNkYyJAkFacMFvzku2MqE-p4g6JGli/s640/me-painting-oik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPorkzAYnbSEJ-hGb7flnx9O7vJBcQ_sK77X-q3SX5CQalQhwVq1CCmy9D2h-su0G2q06ICTe4CGwZHqkUS1bl3I38naBNKKgd4aFgwWyXyGuHkSNkYyJAkFacMFvzku2MqE-p4g6JGli/s320/me-painting-oik.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The fashion choices of a discerning wildlife artist!</i></span></div>
<br />The next photo here shows the scene in front of me and I have circled the position of a lone Oystercatcher that was snoozing quietly in the sun. Through the scope I had quite a good view so I settled in to sketch and to paint. I decided to use watercolours for the first time in ages and this is the result. I think I probably need more practice! Oh well, that should give me a good excuse to go out next week!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwXc40MtJTWrHq6BGbWmANv8hVFr6ZVRwge36IyYir4h8uE5OiadIcPQ18rz-tN3kMrh5i23Ckibm0ZpHM3x6Ls3tNrsUDBUNzxJWUFbi6J9EYGu0leV7z-yWRS86xVSVac_ngXtDKhbs/s800/location-of-oik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrwXc40MtJTWrHq6BGbWmANv8hVFr6ZVRwge36IyYir4h8uE5OiadIcPQ18rz-tN3kMrh5i23Ckibm0ZpHM3x6Ls3tNrsUDBUNzxJWUFbi6J9EYGu0leV7z-yWRS86xVSVac_ngXtDKhbs/s320/location-of-oik.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyRTPyvmO0ZEJF-XFxxvj3zyTTYPfwR9mg0EZd0Ql4ZnsEF7bD0xwoLa5WGq2IGQvMpkltshnJOyIBqnvJd4f392QrWHlKbab3hAs_iEbDckE-D4iBFTpfDP7Io4gYjD8M9gZoOKO5yd1/s800/oikfieldsketchwc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbyRTPyvmO0ZEJF-XFxxvj3zyTTYPfwR9mg0EZd0Ql4ZnsEF7bD0xwoLa5WGq2IGQvMpkltshnJOyIBqnvJd4f392QrWHlKbab3hAs_iEbDckE-D4iBFTpfDP7Io4gYjD8M9gZoOKO5yd1/s320/oikfieldsketchwc.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Oystercatcher at E<span style="font-size: x-small;">lmley 30/6/13</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-91868312459086532532013-04-04T05:37:00.000-07:002013-04-04T05:37:46.120-07:00Finalist BBC Wildlife Artist of the year 2013I am delighted to be able to report that I have had three of my paintings accepted into the finals of the BBC Wildlife Artist of the year competition 2013.<br />
<br />
I have work in three of the categories this year; British birds, World Birds, and Animals in their environment.<br />
<br />
In the British birds category I have 'Highspot'.<br />
I very often encounter Stonechats on the RSPB reserve at Elmley. They are charming birds that can be very visible. The reason they are so easily seen is their habit of using the highest spot they can find to use as a vantage point for spotting their insect prey. Often the 'highspot' will be a bush or a fencepost but on one occasion I watched a male hunting from a solitary stick which, for some reason, rose high above the surrounding reed bed, sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb. He would perch and, when he spotted something, he would fly down into the reeds only to retake his place on his 'highspot' quickly after. This is great from a sketching point of view as I can focus my scope on the perch and know that my subject will pretty soon be back in the frame.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wxXeT9WT-ds5lfYKBOK_5sBlw3llxkTnIoitcGFSCfFhyphenhyphenDWvpxb_8UcvM0rIttDjlrhRr-oYhk2LtuaMytPWdUS7mB71z3nWJUNzJ39oT5V6wETGlcrQAiOerh7K0KnhqVidnwDv1q3D/s1600/Highspotb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8wxXeT9WT-ds5lfYKBOK_5sBlw3llxkTnIoitcGFSCfFhyphenhyphenDWvpxb_8UcvM0rIttDjlrhRr-oYhk2LtuaMytPWdUS7mB71z3nWJUNzJ39oT5V6wETGlcrQAiOerh7K0KnhqVidnwDv1q3D/s320/Highspotb.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">'Highspot'</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJLAUXL9_nscO-1slz2Ped3x9UitmK6sXlBx28q7UUBqB8QExugo_Gh0jw84UuksacP4S3GZsyCrH29p2UaHcFL18MNEs-N25W_KZYcXlytVmIIZ8wrfZnGSQ3Ma0vgHuirJjo7qasnQZ/s1600/stoney-on-a-stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJLAUXL9_nscO-1slz2Ped3x9UitmK6sXlBx28q7UUBqB8QExugo_Gh0jw84UuksacP4S3GZsyCrH29p2UaHcFL18MNEs-N25W_KZYcXlytVmIIZ8wrfZnGSQ3Ma0vgHuirJjo7qasnQZ/s320/stoney-on-a-stick.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Stonechat sketch</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In the World birds category I have 'Striated Heron, Sungei Buloh'.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I have been very lucky and have been able to visit Singapore for great holidays over the past two years. Sungei Buloh is a wetland reserve in the North of the Singapore and is a haven for wildlife on what is a pretty densely populated island. Striated Herons are common there and it would be very difficult to visit the reserve and not see at least one of them. They stalk the shallows using the stealthy technique typical of the heron family. I watched this one as he hunted and caught several small fish whilst he was being observed by a number of large mudskippers. I think they knew they were too large for the heron to tackle but it didn't stop them keeping a wary eye open! I used a letterbox format for this painting to accentuate the Heron's carefully crouched stance and leave room in front of him for him to move into giving the bird a sense of movement. If you follow the Heron's concentrated gaze you should see the small ripples which give the faintest indication of a tasty morsel just below the surface.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxIMznhidQaJRC23bKSseR7DHwa8gBAiuF_QktlzdV2z7h8qelEbGBGyN2Vh0bqVVulQrWzyEQpfSeliReRnaxmCcd4R_YYMQPOSjIpHg7BoyXGqMrADPCYOS_xCIHFhGTxWzQqNDtmy3/s1600/Sungei_Buloh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxIMznhidQaJRC23bKSseR7DHwa8gBAiuF_QktlzdV2z7h8qelEbGBGyN2Vh0bqVVulQrWzyEQpfSeliReRnaxmCcd4R_YYMQPOSjIpHg7BoyXGqMrADPCYOS_xCIHFhGTxWzQqNDtmy3/s320/Sungei_Buloh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">'Striated Heron, Sungei Buloh'</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CXDQAnDHEgpVrBXZlpUpPbSJgI1xHR2bG3RErcn-ecpgwXgmxXK5qc0DNraeoyb9j4UH7lT_2TIMOBij6MSgziH-QmUhd9wR5ou9wqfkJzaElGdMi1VLENbpNewxmL9HQv082PgiwLq0/s1600/striated-sketches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1CXDQAnDHEgpVrBXZlpUpPbSJgI1xHR2bG3RErcn-ecpgwXgmxXK5qc0DNraeoyb9j4UH7lT_2TIMOBij6MSgziH-QmUhd9wR5ou9wqfkJzaElGdMi1VLENbpNewxmL9HQv082PgiwLq0/s320/striated-sketches.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Striated Heron sketches</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />Finally, in the Animals in their environment category, I have 'Mellow fruitfulness'.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Lapwings feature quite a lot in my sketchbooks, mainly because when there is little else to be seen on the reserve at Elmley, there will almost always be a lapwing to rely on and they have such 'sketchable' faces that it would be a shame not to keep sketching them. One of the best things about sketching from life is that I get to observe situations that are just a little unusual from the way we think they should be. When I saw the Lapwing in the same field as the large fruiting bodies of the field mushrooms I knew it was a situation which would be ideal for a painting. The creamy, rounded forms of the mushrooms seemed to match the soft forms of the chest and belly of the Lapwing so I combined the two into the painting of the Lapwing showing how perfectly, if somewhat accidentally, it was camouflaged in its environment.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIedFw2Jtd2AgOI8i5h0V51oPJLZZThnIfbS5acm0hyphenhyphenVybfeOcl133GtmCu5WOiXc7X2UFb_mjYrSQYwwnUp8dKYn2NrCWZMoOd6S5GOcxtynNUlCTYn0l2Nk9Q8xOb9xO5NRNnKJvOP3G/s1600/Mellow_Fruitfulnessb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIedFw2Jtd2AgOI8i5h0V51oPJLZZThnIfbS5acm0hyphenhyphenVybfeOcl133GtmCu5WOiXc7X2UFb_mjYrSQYwwnUp8dKYn2NrCWZMoOd6S5GOcxtynNUlCTYn0l2Nk9Q8xOb9xO5NRNnKJvOP3G/s320/Mellow_Fruitfulnessb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mellow Fruitfulness</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsz2lRH2d_IXdSF9dkemyALr4e3VQF1H8UkkIKEZozcHNe5sPlXS8HehLHXF_yYnwF63cmj4NI1Mn3Jciv-DC8RFC9jdh2uT6yDJ5SxcNmaqNaNzIhfOwOlfq6FDylTTLXCOaBMh2sZhd/s1600/lapsketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsz2lRH2d_IXdSF9dkemyALr4e3VQF1H8UkkIKEZozcHNe5sPlXS8HehLHXF_yYnwF63cmj4NI1Mn3Jciv-DC8RFC9jdh2uT6yDJ5SxcNmaqNaNzIhfOwOlfq6FDylTTLXCOaBMh2sZhd/s320/lapsketch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lapwings field sketch</span></div>
</div>
Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-27863857575376542732013-04-01T02:05:00.002-07:002013-04-01T02:05:29.302-07:00Happy Birthday Dad!Today, 1.4.13, my Dad, James George Woodcock, celebrates his 90th Birthday. Congratulations Dad.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfqgf-N72hvQ1y2-YVd79n8QxGshcXLqHf5uJYD-eGYseSVzCn15AlUi2VbkJobpxsKuQ4L_QrF9nb5TPG03qCiZqHLG04VGJcdrfQ7z-3LOP3qzWjpzw_H-asVIVCF1gkKqKQZbgGF1f/s1600/Dad-at-90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfqgf-N72hvQ1y2-YVd79n8QxGshcXLqHf5uJYD-eGYseSVzCn15AlUi2VbkJobpxsKuQ4L_QrF9nb5TPG03qCiZqHLG04VGJcdrfQ7z-3LOP3qzWjpzw_H-asVIVCF1gkKqKQZbgGF1f/s320/Dad-at-90.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dad at Ninety</div>
Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-45490303111970570812013-02-05T04:39:00.000-08:002013-02-05T04:39:22.401-08:00Target acquired<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There are something in the order of ten types of Kingfisher listed for Singapore including the European species that I am familiar with from home. One of the more common ones on the island is the White Throated Kingfisher, but the most commonly encountered has to be the White Collared Kingfisher. I would probably say that I saw them just about as often as I would perhaps see magpies in the UK. They seem to be present just about everywhere, including the urban environment. Despite the moniker of Kingfisher they will eat a variety of prey alongside fish, including reptiles, crabs, insects, worms and frogs. Their ‘squeaky toy’ call is a normal accompaniment to any trip onto the hill and I don’t think I have ever visited there without seeing one and, at Sungei Buloh they are predictably numerous. They are a very handsome bird that at times in the sunshine, can shimmer between green and blue as they change position. I have many sketches of them because I find them hard to resist. There is also this small work which began as a field painting then was embellished and finished later in my friend’s studio, so it is now what I think of as a ‘worked up sketch’. I left this with my friend as part of what can only be considered as a somewhat inadequate Thank-you. In the pipeline there are two paintings featuring this bird but, as always, there are so many ideas and simply not enough time to bring them all to fruition.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKX_KmahvSIocaVbmh1GQojfNf8ynbfIX5FAzt3zSMP3FwulfcoyWswdkyPRudgu2u_E4ke2c0vO-bmxaQp_3jX-3hUKHu1XKBwkFGYiOhRlj01PjCDgq9oMBlD1VDQ6CwWhrEip-dA0I_/s1600/wckf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKX_KmahvSIocaVbmh1GQojfNf8ynbfIX5FAzt3zSMP3FwulfcoyWswdkyPRudgu2u_E4ke2c0vO-bmxaQp_3jX-3hUKHu1XKBwkFGYiOhRlj01PjCDgq9oMBlD1VDQ6CwWhrEip-dA0I_/s320/wckf1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3o-PUDI6OHBmYOmczgZUzg7IeTaHpodXpPRiemL8b-3UjZNquP7YH5wkTCcfzwN2qhRPgIGKBt0WOpvkVB-pXvnbzc0THHjrZzBd-IlRm3XnSHPa5V1kQWesowSJgBp_Y9VM6VTT5NdiI/s1600/wckf2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3o-PUDI6OHBmYOmczgZUzg7IeTaHpodXpPRiemL8b-3UjZNquP7YH5wkTCcfzwN2qhRPgIGKBt0WOpvkVB-pXvnbzc0THHjrZzBd-IlRm3XnSHPa5V1kQWesowSJgBp_Y9VM6VTT5NdiI/s320/wckf2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9vq4mnbEGXyV31k5Jb-ehGF_51a7kCAaQkjGJ7udbhycrIm2UyZmXvhptgStCT04s06okvKffX5IWapkR2opdEx7P6_0GqopMSSdNUzD0DfqFg8zrA2ytB8Gj__SUckR-Rp66pUYp4LA/s1600/wckf3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9vq4mnbEGXyV31k5Jb-ehGF_51a7kCAaQkjGJ7udbhycrIm2UyZmXvhptgStCT04s06okvKffX5IWapkR2opdEx7P6_0GqopMSSdNUzD0DfqFg8zrA2ytB8Gj__SUckR-Rp66pUYp4LA/s320/wckf3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H6Bm6F8BluixTZAaQ2A9UvZcJ0YGSHmZUumC23a-Fd89x4kFj-MyoFcZAu3H83KZ-5Llhp4JxUzuLjIr1vn2lnTvcnStZEaZ5GfyinSr6Ifk7J4-qxQQSnFZ8gKO0-RGYC8nasDEo0jJ/s1600/wckf4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H6Bm6F8BluixTZAaQ2A9UvZcJ0YGSHmZUumC23a-Fd89x4kFj-MyoFcZAu3H83KZ-5Llhp4JxUzuLjIr1vn2lnTvcnStZEaZ5GfyinSr6Ifk7J4-qxQQSnFZ8gKO0-RGYC8nasDEo0jJ/s320/wckf4.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuRZKUiODW6WxohFsUO4bhlIdnmGl2HtkzivhQ2LeWdX-ACjgrsnz_4cGHjWhUVBHgXoTO94KKOkU9mZS7N58d0r3qoNZzNEGPX8i070pcFhl_P1TM2262UpkuZU4fh9jwDcpgXEdUt1j/s1600/WcKfpaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuRZKUiODW6WxohFsUO4bhlIdnmGl2HtkzivhQ2LeWdX-ACjgrsnz_4cGHjWhUVBHgXoTO94KKOkU9mZS7N58d0r3qoNZzNEGPX8i070pcFhl_P1TM2262UpkuZU4fh9jwDcpgXEdUt1j/s320/WcKfpaint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7437000408400473774" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7437000408400473774" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</a>Lovely as the White Throated and Collared Kingfishers are, there is a
third species which I was keen to get into my sketchbook; The Stork
Billed Kingfisher. I had seen this magnificent bird in 2011 but only
fleetingly, or obscured by vegetation or both! As part of our holiday we
were lucky enough to spend a few days in Indonesia on the island of
Bintan. I was keen to explore as much as I could and rose early each day
to wander around for a couple of hours on my own before breakfast.
Behind our Hotel was a large, ornamental Lily pond that attracted all
sorts to it including; Striated Herons, Monitor Lizards, White Breasted
Waterhens, and White Throated Fantails (Along with more than its fair
share of mosquitoes!) I was watching this pond when, at the far end, I
saw a flash of blue and orange disappear up into a pondside tree. I
didn’t dare to hope but, with trembling hands, I focused my binoculars
and there was my Stork Billed Kingfisher, and sitting beside it, a
second one! I could not believe my luck. I had searched Sungei Buloh for
hours and seen barely a glimpse of theses birds and, here I was, not
100 yards away from my hotel room, in the company of not one, but two,
of the tangerine, chocolate and blue beauties! I hurried around the pond
for closer views and one of the birds must have flown off before I got
into a good spot but the other stayed for a while before it too flew off
into an inaccessible wooded area. But those views had made my day I can
tell you!<br />
<br />
I had put a couple of quick, not very good, sketches
in the book and, now that I knew where I could find them, I hoped I
could get more. I went back to the pond the following morning and
located one of the birds fishing from a pondside tree. I discovered
after a couple of sessions that the birds were quite confiding and I was
able to watch, photograph and sketch them as they went about their
business from fairly close range without disturbing them in the
slightest. One day in particular, my wife and daughter went off
jet-skiing whilst I elected for the more sedate option of sitting by a
pond with a friend, a sketchbook, a Stork Billed Kingfisher and roughly
30 million mosquitoes. Stork Billed Kingfishers are fabulous birds and
watching them was one of the highlights of my Singapore/Indonesia
adventure, despite the incredible heat and the necessity of applying
mossie cream every 20 minutes! I’m sure there will be a larger, more
considered painting at some time in the future, but for now here’s some
sketches and a quick study I did, purely because I could.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVXPe_uW7tIMNRdK18wFROa8BMGerUBIEilIT26cLZfeUzTIX8zLFHPJFozoUdG-FzmTSOW4a8t8HSyMnL_3Pt8_-TyuwOCdniaxrAqMIWJ7gOnziqPevirBtNwQZo6IpIVEsKbuKw54F/s1600/sbkf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVXPe_uW7tIMNRdK18wFROa8BMGerUBIEilIT26cLZfeUzTIX8zLFHPJFozoUdG-FzmTSOW4a8t8HSyMnL_3Pt8_-TyuwOCdniaxrAqMIWJ7gOnziqPevirBtNwQZo6IpIVEsKbuKw54F/s1600/sbkf1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5Xrmn1SC_r_uEA2RcqBGHUY3jXh6727EhPbTmKSHtWDtN5OIuudkeWQmMNblWfC0VP9meQg8vf1FZPn4n7bdXGihyphenhyphenrhHM6IrOZbn_lvPU935mpFrMgHLcMXQmdDxEyjkYNwaNl7S3Rzq/s1600/sbkf2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5Xrmn1SC_r_uEA2RcqBGHUY3jXh6727EhPbTmKSHtWDtN5OIuudkeWQmMNblWfC0VP9meQg8vf1FZPn4n7bdXGihyphenhyphenrhHM6IrOZbn_lvPU935mpFrMgHLcMXQmdDxEyjkYNwaNl7S3Rzq/s320/sbkf2.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwChxcJGuaPrOULQJQsy5QU1Lzj_ToAevTTtZrRmTIAjPhEVYWbKUEtFFPa6cDbST8wzxKemLt7C0G_IlX_OlvrqVg1IazVDboSbdwAJhFsZbQW72RIQjTwXi6HIFzoWemdBuT59CpFmGh/s1600/sbkf5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwChxcJGuaPrOULQJQsy5QU1Lzj_ToAevTTtZrRmTIAjPhEVYWbKUEtFFPa6cDbST8wzxKemLt7C0G_IlX_OlvrqVg1IazVDboSbdwAJhFsZbQW72RIQjTwXi6HIFzoWemdBuT59CpFmGh/s320/sbkf5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeY87bk-oZSQQjvYTOP9kH-jHvMtZIoInaYbtph3PiH1pOaBGUEvOzdzFIqziUF4z4i7szSjNU1hqS2ZUe2z9LVkUFg3Liph_PQoh5zbLfzBJGTeMQpxg6APpvs_-e6Cz-sLvKDiJrtp0F/s1600/sbkf3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeY87bk-oZSQQjvYTOP9kH-jHvMtZIoInaYbtph3PiH1pOaBGUEvOzdzFIqziUF4z4i7szSjNU1hqS2ZUe2z9LVkUFg3Liph_PQoh5zbLfzBJGTeMQpxg6APpvs_-e6Cz-sLvKDiJrtp0F/s320/sbkf3.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNWPJ3sXlPI7byJW91ribi9cLs0wsQn249vNwf_8t-E67fsCBmDq165l0Uo95eTu9GElv6KPNnnZeUo_Dj9UgOFphSFT1sjJilheqe-ouvxy62W8CvxLK19kD0GLcRJzgkCiGPqtNXh_j/s1600/sbkf6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNWPJ3sXlPI7byJW91ribi9cLs0wsQn249vNwf_8t-E67fsCBmDq165l0Uo95eTu9GElv6KPNnnZeUo_Dj9UgOFphSFT1sjJilheqe-ouvxy62W8CvxLK19kD0GLcRJzgkCiGPqtNXh_j/s320/sbkf6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5JDw-RY3bujZFnBeM15AjxVC9Asg_gZp3dreqCtiqt-H-nbn7l8MMYtIh4cO9giDNadnzWg5WR06l7rV3PQj-U2N7PIieMvz0mAh81mOXAsdxuGxJnzLESU53pQbIVuN9mGm1e2WkNHV/s1600/SbKfpaint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5JDw-RY3bujZFnBeM15AjxVC9Asg_gZp3dreqCtiqt-H-nbn7l8MMYtIh4cO9giDNadnzWg5WR06l7rV3PQj-U2N7PIieMvz0mAh81mOXAsdxuGxJnzLESU53pQbIVuN9mGm1e2WkNHV/s320/SbKfpaint.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-78031937676595350132013-01-03T04:31:00.000-08:002013-01-03T07:08:18.620-08:00More from Singapore 2012So the festive season is over and another year starts. I'm still looking back at the moment though at my Singapore adventure last summer. I have hundreds of photographs and sketches to work through and remind me of the experience and every time I come to explore them I find something new and exciting. I am currently two thirds through a painting of a Striated Heron and there is another in development of a very special bird indeed. But more on that in later posts.<br />
<br />
For now we'll take another trip onto the Hill. I suppose it would be possible to become accustomed to the common birds, given enough time but, just as it is in the UK, the same patch of ground can always throw up a surprise or two. Asian Water Monitors are common enough in Singapore and any walk around Sungei Buloh Reserve will be littered with them. Some are impressive beasts and lengths of about two metres are usual for adult males, more unusually they have been known to reach almost ten metres! They can be found anywhere there is water and that includes the canals and drainage channels that run through residential areas. There are no such channels up on the Hill, (It's a hill after all!), but on day two I was surprised to see one of these beautiful reptiles clinging to a tree trunk about eight metres from the ground. I knew that the lizards could climb but I didn't really imagine them getting that high for some reason. It had no difficulty holding on to the rough surface of the tree with its huge and devilishly sharp claws and, as it seemed perfectly at home and I was out early, I can only imagine that it had spent the night there.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgTZRrZW5KYWmjtP3Zdgwl3g6QSuXtKnq18L-kjzaBjm7rqE6VajR88g5sl40Vs79USojI2qdX6exivaHtj5QK7ONLT3IeSxCNi5Do1ZuU1mmdBbxW5oSkLLH8pbfifegQrrLKE9MGUkH/s1600/monitortree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgTZRrZW5KYWmjtP3Zdgwl3g6QSuXtKnq18L-kjzaBjm7rqE6VajR88g5sl40Vs79USojI2qdX6exivaHtj5QK7ONLT3IeSxCNi5Do1ZuU1mmdBbxW5oSkLLH8pbfifegQrrLKE9MGUkH/s320/monitortree.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Water Monitor</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I was also fortunate to get some views of another new species for me; Hill Myna. Two sat for a short while high up in a distant tree but with the aid of my scope they were easily identifiable as the species commonly seen in captivity.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyRuhoDkJd8_PEwGUZWX-zkCioSt29PI7CU7qp4s5AUWMI3ZSve12Im-zLYD2IKmFkd5PysD4XFZ_0Pg2WWqvAZScJJAY9A_XPWeoZ-Yk1giokvRCK2P0bb2KJq5FJY53SHE3T8ZSEoUB/s1600/hill_myna_wckf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyRuhoDkJd8_PEwGUZWX-zkCioSt29PI7CU7qp4s5AUWMI3ZSve12Im-zLYD2IKmFkd5PysD4XFZ_0Pg2WWqvAZScJJAY9A_XPWeoZ-Yk1giokvRCK2P0bb2KJq5FJY53SHE3T8ZSEoUB/s320/hill_myna_wckf.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hill Myna and White Collared Kingfisher</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Although birds are obviously different all over the world it is often easy to recognise what families they belong to. The Laced Woodpecker for example is a pretty typical woodpecker and behaves in a very similar way to the Green Woodpecker that I am so familiar with at home, even the call is similar.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5Fd_k5YN-gZvvDqVbTb46_0xoVnYbkSFHXVJGvG6-ucT6wUXPSooBZ27HCun9UaC2b8ufjbsRd_juJ_mHyoW8Ffc9Fo8mA8nZmSZkJ6gb9pofaB1cK9ESVPOAPCiGjPgT7V1XHekNE4U/s1600/laced_wp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5Fd_k5YN-gZvvDqVbTb46_0xoVnYbkSFHXVJGvG6-ucT6wUXPSooBZ27HCun9UaC2b8ufjbsRd_juJ_mHyoW8Ffc9Fo8mA8nZmSZkJ6gb9pofaB1cK9ESVPOAPCiGjPgT7V1XHekNE4U/s320/laced_wp1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Laced Woodpecker hanging beneath tree branch</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Hill is my 'usual' patch whilst I'm in Singapore as it's literally just across the road and I can be there in five minutes, stay for a couple of hours and then get back in plenty of time to have a shower and then get breakfast with the family. Sometimes I rise earlier though and take a walk along the canal which runs through the area (Ulu Pandan). It is a popular area for joggers, walkers etc but the wildlife that lives there is used to all that and largely ignores the passers by. I do get approached by people, curious to know what I'm up to when I am sketching or watching through my scope, but the locals have all been polite and friendly and chatting with them has provided me with useful information about locations to visit etc. For me one of the most interesting birds to be found along the canal is the White Throated Kingfisher. These birds are distinctly different to the slightly more common White Collared Kingfisher and are a treat to see. They are a rich chocolate brown with a blaze of white on their throat/breast, reddish beaks and feet and an amazing, vibrant, electric blue back. One morning I found one sitting in a tree on the opposite bank who was quite happy to pose for me long enough to do a small field painting and fill a few sketchbook pages.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CfLSxW6Xsk9UyLjiD3xpFP6k46C-xQl7HnWnnB5Zg1mtfRRWq98a_aoI3-yWxME_ghKWP_n9nRjf82DiYoW32y5QcO_1cX4yyeiQBz7pWFVTMKdOk1E_5f3_S_MmDIr-mnhCDOSkPwgH/s1600/wtkf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6CfLSxW6Xsk9UyLjiD3xpFP6k46C-xQl7HnWnnB5Zg1mtfRRWq98a_aoI3-yWxME_ghKWP_n9nRjf82DiYoW32y5QcO_1cX4yyeiQBz7pWFVTMKdOk1E_5f3_S_MmDIr-mnhCDOSkPwgH/s320/wtkf1.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSyjOqeWX-zDvjcF3-cIEY3PU0Dbtk_9yWaikX0coWFm38cCFjQJhrWft7mMj8ZCcHXYjvIuh_vdwhQnYI9aAxKQ0u6LtzVb7H9vHteKTixIwGwQ5RyxKn5D1aXW4rLilnBYjUUbWaRTC/s1600/wtkf2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSyjOqeWX-zDvjcF3-cIEY3PU0Dbtk_9yWaikX0coWFm38cCFjQJhrWft7mMj8ZCcHXYjvIuh_vdwhQnYI9aAxKQ0u6LtzVb7H9vHteKTixIwGwQ5RyxKn5D1aXW4rLilnBYjUUbWaRTC/s320/wtkf2.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mcmqDZ3WmtSJQyvs3SY8C9W_uck_6N8b6mP_zkoWMRCjZOJTgISYHLvGCQ2HE9OvDxMSZP_OK5UXDsMtxr7y0y02-0z9g8DNIUhyphenhyphen103MnUWtn1cHc2V9sT76yqHXRJZUv0CWGIUtOgpr/s1600/wtkf3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mcmqDZ3WmtSJQyvs3SY8C9W_uck_6N8b6mP_zkoWMRCjZOJTgISYHLvGCQ2HE9OvDxMSZP_OK5UXDsMtxr7y0y02-0z9g8DNIUhyphenhyphen103MnUWtn1cHc2V9sT76yqHXRJZUv0CWGIUtOgpr/s320/wtkf3.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>White Throated Kingfisher</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I love the kingfishers in Singapore, they are great to watch and the colours are stunning. More later on my favourite kingfisher of all...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>
Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-44996578336284925512012-12-24T02:04:00.003-08:002012-12-24T02:04:36.278-08:00Merry Christmas Everyone!Merry Christmas Everyone!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2B_wcpSooSZuW2_qQ6pLI1iytCA2GKxymqPHnzasEbfBBdb0fcjIW1Tgu_rJvkIQEUIbKz4X_Ee5dqry98KDWx5oj6Q8UnzEkiEwdp34z59aBmAckYJBAsdVHwlF6zREiWnQPzeFrcPR8/s1600/greetings-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2B_wcpSooSZuW2_qQ6pLI1iytCA2GKxymqPHnzasEbfBBdb0fcjIW1Tgu_rJvkIQEUIbKz4X_Ee5dqry98KDWx5oj6Q8UnzEkiEwdp34z59aBmAckYJBAsdVHwlF6zREiWnQPzeFrcPR8/s320/greetings-2012.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<br />Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-49419354922454369602012-09-21T15:22:00.000-07:002012-09-21T15:22:49.661-07:00Return to EdenOn the hill, 7.30am, Singapore 14.8.12<br />
<br />
Through the unbelievable generosity of big-hearted friends I have returned to Singapore and to the hill. An Eden that I believed was only ever to be accessible to me through memories, sketches and photographs. After a year away it is familiar yet still every bit as alien as before. It is hot and moist, the air is full of the constant whine of Cicadas, the 'chak-chaking' of Geckos and the exotic calls of what to me are 'jungle' birds. Most of the calls are unknown to me and I am reminded of every film or TV programme featuring jungles of any description from any part of the world. The heat here is unlike the heat of even the hottest day in England. There it is a direct and dry heat, a little like standing by a fire, and it is readily avoided by seeking a little shelter and shade. Here the heat is enveloping and penetrating and it makes you warm to your bones even in the shade. To some this type of heat is a discomfort to be avoided in the artificial cool of air conditioning, but to me it is welcome.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEvegaJP-YQX6YdHCphi-h-FeFVFQd_ykyOQNTDpcIwYv3nkpS5PdaBzb0-GaKN7eTwTHVwepda3Tcex7EKOh1vcjYYZvvUTyeaV5QtlrV2Z5uPG_Dhtc0ixRgR9J-zKwcCLaU8n1GBbD/s1600/the+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfEvegaJP-YQX6YdHCphi-h-FeFVFQd_ykyOQNTDpcIwYv3nkpS5PdaBzb0-GaKN7eTwTHVwepda3Tcex7EKOh1vcjYYZvvUTyeaV5QtlrV2Z5uPG_Dhtc0ixRgR9J-zKwcCLaU8n1GBbD/s320/the+hill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The hill</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
One call that I can distinguish is the laugh of the White Collared Kingfisher. My friends know it as the 'squeaky toy bird' because the sound resembles the noise that a dog's toy will make as the dog bites it. It was one of the first calls of any Singapore bird that I could recognise. They call loudly and can often be tracked down quickly by following the call. It feels right that the first bird in my sketchbook is a White Collared Kingfisher, a personal favourite. My first scribbles do prove that lack of practise has made the shapes of the birds unfamiliar. A Racket Tailed Drongo is calling from cover, loud and insistent. I spy him and he spies me with his bright, blood-red eye. Both of his magnificent tail streamers are still intact which is unusual and I try to photograph him. My photos are shaky, perhaps from the lack of light or, more likely, from my ineptitude with a camera. The sketch that goes in the book is little better as I underestimate the length of his streamers and end up adding them to the side as an extra.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVdmfkoPJoq2p4UkWSh72MlvrRphEwa1iLEPFCPnj3l1IRqWMlDm2pJ3VNbB1NAsU8tb9uJsMwzYtPacenD39pY-CvdiZJ3GhYuNli4K_PBYT84ypen6EXuCKQGDqoJdSphACDyHXlALE/s1600/wckf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVdmfkoPJoq2p4UkWSh72MlvrRphEwa1iLEPFCPnj3l1IRqWMlDm2pJ3VNbB1NAsU8tb9uJsMwzYtPacenD39pY-CvdiZJ3GhYuNli4K_PBYT84ypen6EXuCKQGDqoJdSphACDyHXlALE/s320/wckf1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>White Collared Kingfisher</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcj4Vcc0C6qcmcXaAYza_KTxo-D0eKGQaG11uhJ2QCqruyhb50rdrIOM2fHuiEYThIqBhQ4jstKeBpjbH3EWUUWH9pCY1N799a3Bf4dtehxTSpx-GYVBLs3mVLyCxYPi2u-kt9n0GzqUOZ/s1600/rtdrongo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcj4Vcc0C6qcmcXaAYza_KTxo-D0eKGQaG11uhJ2QCqruyhb50rdrIOM2fHuiEYThIqBhQ4jstKeBpjbH3EWUUWH9pCY1N799a3Bf4dtehxTSpx-GYVBLs3mVLyCxYPi2u-kt9n0GzqUOZ/s320/rtdrongo1.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Racket Tailed Drongo</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are Myna birds on the hill (Javan Myna aka White Vented Myna) they patrol the slopes in gangs, like overgrown and over-dressed Starlings. They are noisy, boisterous, gregarious and funny. They strut around with that 'Ministry of Silly Walks' approved step of theirs and they make me smile every time.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnet2r__0BhyphenhyphenR9Uxi1r5tX3YPsSOvnfdd4IKs1Fat5lBdxZZOl3qHiSnkF9q-MywqIkV4aqyTiu7NocXcDR-DPzx3_NADbUEoMB2FkWEZGFjplpoWX4AY5yNcLh1rN8tIE3Es46uLJXyp/s1600/sillywalkmyna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnet2r__0BhyphenhyphenR9Uxi1r5tX3YPsSOvnfdd4IKs1Fat5lBdxZZOl3qHiSnkF9q-MywqIkV4aqyTiu7NocXcDR-DPzx3_NADbUEoMB2FkWEZGFjplpoWX4AY5yNcLh1rN8tIE3Es46uLJXyp/s320/sillywalkmyna.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Javan Myna</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The beautifully<i> </i>named Olive Backed Sunbird is as common here as Blue Tits back home, they are almost as small and their call is similar too.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMhMAoFYwrAq-PtyXJ85B5ANTNmKyF3xIOMQEOGUzRc-o0ly_hTOPofmnVcVPy-0vBU82Wkughao5rDEN_79ki9NLJUtbhzchfwSIL-NLjwMmhTlwrlCEEmngX0QF3U206lSFgoouSLeA/s1600/obsunbird1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMhMAoFYwrAq-PtyXJ85B5ANTNmKyF3xIOMQEOGUzRc-o0ly_hTOPofmnVcVPy-0vBU82Wkughao5rDEN_79ki9NLJUtbhzchfwSIL-NLjwMmhTlwrlCEEmngX0QF3U206lSFgoouSLeA/s320/obsunbird1.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Olive Backed Sunbird</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yellow Vented Bulbuls are another very common bird here, singly or in pairs and trios they root around the bushes, trees, vines and grass looking for berries, fruits, young shoots and insects. I sketch one on 'the stump', just to loosen my wrist and to get used to the accursed finger splint that I am currently sporting on the ring finger of my right hand. (I injured it in a bizarre underwear related incident just a day or two before my trip.) 'The stump' is somewhat unusual for Singapore. I am in a public park, not a reserve, and the Singaporeans have a bit of a penchant for tidying things up. There are always gangs of workers trimming the trees beside the roads, or sweeping leaves and so on. Even Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is currently undergoing a bit of a 'make-over'. Hopefully the powers that be will not tidy it up to the point where it stops being a reserve and becomes just another park. Already there are visitors being attracted to the place who treat it more like a park than a reserve: They talk loudly and they laugh and shout, generally not showing any real regard for either the wildlife or those visitors that come to the reserve to enjoy it.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
OK, rant over, back to the stump. It was here last year and here it remains so maybe someone somewhere has suggested that it should be left to rot down naturally into perfect insect habitat. It would be good to think that there is at least one voice of reason arguing for the value of non-intervention from time to time. I like the stump and I hope that it is allowed to decay with dignity and that it doesn't fall victim to the sweepers, shredders and removers for the sake of a 'tidy' hill.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWk4SBkYcCqI3yLCFVZILZ15o5-2y8jHQH7l5BwtNx9YsS83nBB6D1YZopZtWglR38g8FIBF2e3gzh7qnuVNU84ZqLq7BnKP5O71YKNswHSeTl7tHipISNpo8LWIZnVLsucpoPp58npae/s1600/the-stump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWk4SBkYcCqI3yLCFVZILZ15o5-2y8jHQH7l5BwtNx9YsS83nBB6D1YZopZtWglR38g8FIBF2e3gzh7qnuVNU84ZqLq7BnKP5O71YKNswHSeTl7tHipISNpo8LWIZnVLsucpoPp58npae/s320/the-stump.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>'The stump' with Yellow Vented Bulbul</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-53927562304026761822012-08-31T04:07:00.000-07:002012-08-31T04:07:53.329-07:00Home TurfLots to tell from my two week trip to Singapore and Indonesia. I have been spending time with birds and other exotic creatures of the 'Mystic East' and my sketchbook has been well used.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYsM_z-_Wq2hzftuYsvs1j4aRUfqiRRZJpnDgCwMoqpL7A59aZUWWy4Rxnzd-ICec9FXgJD2zM2DTJT0n6tLSUrquQaR-IiHmN0e6TulBqF4zQD_Fclo3zlfuF-D2zJjfuamPCSNJgdhK/s1600/singers-sketchbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYsM_z-_Wq2hzftuYsvs1j4aRUfqiRRZJpnDgCwMoqpL7A59aZUWWy4Rxnzd-ICec9FXgJD2zM2DTJT0n6tLSUrquQaR-IiHmN0e6TulBqF4zQD_Fclo3zlfuF-D2zJjfuamPCSNJgdhK/s320/singers-sketchbook.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<br />
Since my return I have been preparing for a small show at the RSPB reserve at Northward Hill Country Fair next weekend Sunday 9th September, so I have not really had the time to sort all the photos and sketches from Asia, but they are on their way! As a little taster here's a sketch of a Lineated Barbet which was just one of the birds that I saw pretty regularly during my stay. What a bird and what a place!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrJNjPO1AiDZARPT1GsFK9_nODZ7zE9dGna7zdqSBF3KO01hSSxSVEl4jdzeVdXYhAZHjehsbVmVsWE4L6HH_1NRFkq_CUelAh320yhm8M_JJlX2PoMt9aetob4gMhnAvFKrfAFOXghmu/s1600/Lineated+Barbet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrJNjPO1AiDZARPT1GsFK9_nODZ7zE9dGna7zdqSBF3KO01hSSxSVEl4jdzeVdXYhAZHjehsbVmVsWE4L6HH_1NRFkq_CUelAh320yhm8M_JJlX2PoMt9aetob4gMhnAvFKrfAFOXghmu/s320/Lineated+Barbet1.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
<br />
If you are in Kent next weekend and fancy a bit of a day out in the country why not pop along to Northward Hill and say Hello.<br />
Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-34526315159869433002012-07-11T07:55:00.002-07:002012-07-11T07:58:20.267-07:00Website updatedI confess I'd let my website remain stagnant for too long so, over the past few weeks, I've been beavering away trying to create a new look and uploading some of the work done over the past year or so.<br />
<br />
Making a website from scratch is a tough ol' business when you know next to nothing like me. I've had help of course, there's no way I could have done it without the advice and occasional troubleshooting of an expert. Luckily I have such an expert who is willing to help and answer a constant stream of silly questions.<br />
<br />
The whole process is frustrating in the extreme, you think you've got something nailed, then you look at your beautiful page in a different browser and it turns into a cubist's nightmare without rhyme nor reason!<br />
<br />
Maybe I should have used a template like everyone else!<br />
<br />
Anyway after much wailing and gnashing of teeth the results of my toil and my friend's patience are now on the interweb for all to share. The website address remains as it was www.wildlifeart1.co.uk please drop over and let me know what you think.Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-58023524085699233712012-06-21T08:16:00.000-07:002012-06-21T08:16:01.571-07:00Something special<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOSgwY4L2T05zGhJ09Yy6fLQASy_5oVSrqJgAiqgvarOQQOrtGNNVdByDw3qClKNGEU8trO-uIWNxkxE93zrTagP1hT_g5oFwyEXP506dSixqtu3A2XAyY8UQX5nV-YEF7Myt78cPexaq/s1600/lilowl1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOSgwY4L2T05zGhJ09Yy6fLQASy_5oVSrqJgAiqgvarOQQOrtGNNVdByDw3qClKNGEU8trO-uIWNxkxE93zrTagP1hT_g5oFwyEXP506dSixqtu3A2XAyY8UQX5nV-YEF7Myt78cPexaq/s320/lilowl1.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A trip out, even to a familiar place, can never be entirely disappointing. Someone once said ‘If you would see something new, walk the same path every day’. I know what they meant. I visit the reserve at Elmley virtually every week, I travel there by virtually the same route every time and walk the same paths to the same hides every week too. But that doesn’t mean that the experience is the same every time, in fact no two trips are ever the same. The season, the weather, the light, the time of day the speed that I travel or the length of time I spend in any one spot, all these things make every trip unique. <br /><br />Sometimes a trip is made special by seeing an unusual bird or animal, perhaps even one that I’ve never seen before. I see marsh harriers regularly on Elmley and on one occasion when I stopped to look at what I thought at first was a marsh harrier it turned out to be a passing osprey! I’d never seen a wild osprey up to that point and my heart certainly beat a little faster when I identified my first one flying overhead being pursued by a lapwing and a crow. In some places osprey are common birds, but not here, not on Elmley, and it was thrilling to me to be seeing such a special bird in such a familiar place.<br /><br />Other times perhaps the sight of a bird that is returning to the reserve for the Winter or Summer or one that is passing through on passage, might pique my excitement. I always look forward to seeing my first swallow of Summer for example, or hearing the song of the first yellow wagtail of the year. Sometimes it’s the absence of something that’s an indicator of the change of season; The background noise of wigeon whistling is a constant during the Winter but at some time I will have a trip out where the absence of that sound means that most of the wigeon are gone and Spring is on the way. Wheatears are a favourite bird of mine and each year from mid-March I look out for the smartly plumaged Spring males as they pass through on their way to breed in Northern and Western Britain, and later in the year I look for the youngsters moving through on migration to sub-Saharan Africa.<br /><br />Sometimes it’s not that a bird is new or unusual, it could be simply that a particular species is always a thrill to see, even if it is just a glimpse. Merlins always excite me, as do sparrowhawks and peregrines. Other birds are perhaps not so thrilling or dramatic but are simply beautiful to watch. Lapwings flying in a huge flock, flickering light and dark as they twist as one showing first belly then back.<br />
<br />Dramatic events and behaviours can materialise in front of your eyes, a helpless chick being taken by a heron or a gull for example. Or a peregrine chasing prey through the sky in a stoop from a height, or a merlin splitting a starling flock perhaps.<br /><br />This Sunday it was a familiar bird that made the day special; A little owl. They are full of character, delightful and feisty and have always been one of my favourites. Last year I had a glimpse of a little owl as it vanished into the void between two big old chunks of concrete which are used as part of the sea defences down by the River Medway. I stopped to look but the owl didn’t re-emerge and I suspected that there may be a nest somewhere amongst the crevices. The following week I saw an adult owl perched on a signpost not far from the site and that pretty much cemented my belief that the nest was there in the sea wall. I drew up a painting with the little owl perched on the rubble because I liked the shapes angles and textures. I continued to see the owl(s) around the area but not often on the sea wall itself and by the Winter my sightings had dropped away.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3R1QOsOCuGtzjoenIgpUqpVmfKNL7r2olAeVlmvnxdvApWRO4X_GDXv1J_CDuj9CfgsF4WIqCS4pync53xsQ0Yy0zwgFy6bUirU8T0KLxadmA2_6MjeA7fBEPc_HARB_BJhibSwRIMAE/s1600/lilowls2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3R1QOsOCuGtzjoenIgpUqpVmfKNL7r2olAeVlmvnxdvApWRO4X_GDXv1J_CDuj9CfgsF4WIqCS4pync53xsQ0Yy0zwgFy6bUirU8T0KLxadmA2_6MjeA7fBEPc_HARB_BJhibSwRIMAE/s320/lilowls2.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
<br /><br />Over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed the owls around the wall again but conditions have been awful and I’ve not had the opportunity to stay and watch for any length of time. This week was different though, it was Father’s day so I felt it was okay to stay longer and the sun had at last managed to make itself known between scudding clouds. The owl was perched in his spot on the wall as I passed him on my way out to the reserve and I made a mental note to look for him on the way back when the light would be better. Sure enough after a fairly uneventful reserve visit my little owl was still in place on his perch. I stopped the car and set up my scope in the window, I felt that if I left the car then he’d probably fly off or disappear into the nest. Then I simply watched. He didn’t get up to much really, he just sat there enjoying the warmth of the sun when it appeared from between the increasing cloud. His attention was drawn by various things and he’d bob his head up and down a bit, preen a few feathers, scratch an itch or stretch a wing. At one point he scratched at his head and loostened a feather which got stuck upright so he looked like an Indian brave from a 1960’s movie. I could tell it was irritating him, especially when it caught the wind and blew down to hang in front of his face. Eventually he turned his head upside down and scratched furiously until the errant feather gave up the game and took flight with the wind.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZ1-2x-66yU1UW7TD1L00ba_fDQ9BLpDW_OF_yqiF1OC35glUhyGzXasdeJZBfHRpOnzjFUjixFQC90bsaaXiKwnbSkf6kcFfhNCfIvwu-SOzlN1dwYyUsiA-j8sM28z1WRyOZqeKJ1PY/s1600/lilowls3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZ1-2x-66yU1UW7TD1L00ba_fDQ9BLpDW_OF_yqiF1OC35glUhyGzXasdeJZBfHRpOnzjFUjixFQC90bsaaXiKwnbSkf6kcFfhNCfIvwu-SOzlN1dwYyUsiA-j8sM28z1WRyOZqeKJ1PY/s320/lilowls3.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Despite my position being a bit awkward I got the sketchpad out and sketched away happily, losing track of time. After half an hour or so he did begin to get a little more animated and hopped about from one point to another but it seemed that he’d always almost instantly settle back down and start to drop off for a snooze. One of the more endearing things about little owls is that they have eyelids like ours and it gives them a very human looking face.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE59OFzH8Y0etmGu5G_YVXy2THLpWZT3QmOISqUIhHdZLiJARPiVGIxw1o6HBI36R4tpj5_xeMyMFVr1DmMz03yes42jdcBruk4fJYtozum7K-rn6qEYacYVx5LHr-Wxe0QWwwB6mbxo3I/s1600/lilowls4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE59OFzH8Y0etmGu5G_YVXy2THLpWZT3QmOISqUIhHdZLiJARPiVGIxw1o6HBI36R4tpj5_xeMyMFVr1DmMz03yes42jdcBruk4fJYtozum7K-rn6qEYacYVx5LHr-Wxe0QWwwB6mbxo3I/s320/lilowls4.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<br /><br />I spent about an hour and a half with my owl until finally he was disturbed when a pair of cyclists, chatting loudly, came by and he jumped down into a crevice again. It was an intimate encounter, sharing time and watching him relaxing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTVVMu1K6yNuW1hUci_J-n0btihSFFt9ETnxdTCPCChulRFoc_UHmgwtyiFCgHGsYMgJfgzJ9zTM7AipGYK4cEg-oFdD01KwSU_K-MeFLLErw_SeHDQo6AvWYtnd6tWCnwhSy7SkShSeZ/s1600/lilowls5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTVVMu1K6yNuW1hUci_J-n0btihSFFt9ETnxdTCPCChulRFoc_UHmgwtyiFCgHGsYMgJfgzJ9zTM7AipGYK4cEg-oFdD01KwSU_K-MeFLLErw_SeHDQo6AvWYtnd6tWCnwhSy7SkShSeZ/s320/lilowls5.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Little owl is not an unusual bird for me to see, they are common enough hereabouts, neither is it a particularly dramatic bird to watch, if it makes a kill it’s pretty likely to be a beetle or a worm! It’s not a great harbinger of the seasons, it’s small, unobtrusive and mostly brown.<br /><br />But a bird doesn’t have to be special to be something special. There is beauty to be found in the everyday if only we take the time to see it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDpKNn59PDDb0na_sGBi_IZP0lBnlho8sPkbyemJBPrbNLp-yzAMxA0vEtFR7R9kItYCq_jtHfeHpNVO9QdSGFw2qyLtES3zmtm6FhXh0id15pnm0TSYGl4VGjM5Twx2dp-WIF05Z8tRi/s1600/rubble-final.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDpKNn59PDDb0na_sGBi_IZP0lBnlho8sPkbyemJBPrbNLp-yzAMxA0vEtFR7R9kItYCq_jtHfeHpNVO9QdSGFw2qyLtES3zmtm6FhXh0id15pnm0TSYGl4VGjM5Twx2dp-WIF05Z8tRi/s320/rubble-final.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-83390710003568998022012-06-13T08:40:00.000-07:002012-06-13T08:40:13.589-07:00Summer for a day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCxhQ8uf-cqiZyfzhJYuu0HVrrl4eACYp9A1aTRfwsekGK6GSVtx_yMHdcoppbvzc66Bq7zLu5iYffQoOxmIKFxe7bZh-O81KCR9RRYMYmhfEjfd0qWD5T4ZP3fT7tr4pj3x8DIIxg65K/s1600/early-sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCxhQ8uf-cqiZyfzhJYuu0HVrrl4eACYp9A1aTRfwsekGK6GSVtx_yMHdcoppbvzc66Bq7zLu5iYffQoOxmIKFxe7bZh-O81KCR9RRYMYmhfEjfd0qWD5T4ZP3fT7tr4pj3x8DIIxg65K/s320/early-sky.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The sun cast an oily stain in the sky at the horizon. The sky was almost clear of cloud and the air was near windless. The start of a Summer’s day. Not unusual for late May or June...Usually. But the weather this Spring has been dreadful: April was the wettest on record, May must have been close and now June has started with days where the expected rainfall was more than the average amount for the entire month. The rain has been seemingly constant, almost without let up. In short it has been what might be called ‘Fine weather for ducks’.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUMknxxetHsUbAKUXxbkd4GofAmJxUZDPLz7H6cLegOCvqdn5ncA_tdyEd8GV-yu7UfDfCFI4Lux34DnNGj_P6Kws3kvjlhkI7hrvo8IKrEeV00MizpBeOaVg5B4CIqNiIMFWlT9zzjCq/s1600/nice-weather-for-ducks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpUMknxxetHsUbAKUXxbkd4GofAmJxUZDPLz7H6cLegOCvqdn5ncA_tdyEd8GV-yu7UfDfCFI4Lux34DnNGj_P6Kws3kvjlhkI7hrvo8IKrEeV00MizpBeOaVg5B4CIqNiIMFWlT9zzjCq/s320/nice-weather-for-ducks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />Sunday morning’s ascent into Summer was both a surprise and a relief. The fields either side of the road were carpeted with the mists of Summer before full sunrise and there was a surprising amount of wildlife on the road itself, most of it still alive! Collared doves, woodpigeons, crows, magpies blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, chaffinches, pheasants and, of course, rabbits. They all scattered ahead of the car, not all at once of course, that would have been remarkable. There was also the all too obvious evidence of those creatures not nimble enough to continue contributing to the gene pool. Their remains made conspicuous smears of mushed flesh, bone, feather and fur, food for magpies and crows and bait for more victims.<br /><br />The mist lingers longer on the marshes, fuelled by ditches, rills and dykes filled with weeks of rain. The entrance track to the reserve was only visible for a few metres ahead before it plunged into a solid wall of white. At the side of the track a pair of red legged partidges sat off of the wet grass. The female of the pair looked thoroughly dejected, soaked through and unwell, I could almost see concern on the face of the male as he stood guard over her.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p1-wA4ptLFD9BLGO6lHc8P7AYyN4AqExf2-1MTkEWx-0RzrIq4QD0XZPV29wAESyQ0iux7aSGrfY7LRF301aU0HJYmo2b7BDEquAdaZ7j0N4lM1OQHbk827k20ynZfyNzWj8uN7grZ7O/s1600/rl-partridges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9p1-wA4ptLFD9BLGO6lHc8P7AYyN4AqExf2-1MTkEWx-0RzrIq4QD0XZPV29wAESyQ0iux7aSGrfY7LRF301aU0HJYmo2b7BDEquAdaZ7j0N4lM1OQHbk827k20ynZfyNzWj8uN7grZ7O/s320/rl-partridges.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />As the sun rose higher it began to light the mists and colour them in saturated golds and oranges. Cattle moved slowly through the glow. Other, smaller denizens of the marsh began to appear as the mists lifted.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSEE-EUcMZ_S2zGqW5Lg9Xx4XXWcCdyjXqqb2-kNsZD8XQHrCzQKug1MSpNMZTKWia7fjurgb7tns5ty0OGzLP48VTKsYGfylRU6H23pXVx7BHcgRK_SfDY9JguLmCgB7hnF9vs75Al4N/s1600/cow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSEE-EUcMZ_S2zGqW5Lg9Xx4XXWcCdyjXqqb2-kNsZD8XQHrCzQKug1MSpNMZTKWia7fjurgb7tns5ty0OGzLP48VTKsYGfylRU6H23pXVx7BHcgRK_SfDY9JguLmCgB7hnF9vs75Al4N/s320/cow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRJoHBYmmNLfnqdeswO_p_G8q0l73KD6lyCEDQ29skZJHyf7vqcnvpMDP_xZCQe_WlkiUZ0AjI3zw2sLf2dbbuEmyhqMWjG03McjFAMRhPMjLpa_7Fe-qYeOEWCyJ1qm9QcfHSOPWSbZy/s1600/wabbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRJoHBYmmNLfnqdeswO_p_G8q0l73KD6lyCEDQ29skZJHyf7vqcnvpMDP_xZCQe_WlkiUZ0AjI3zw2sLf2dbbuEmyhqMWjG03McjFAMRhPMjLpa_7Fe-qYeOEWCyJ1qm9QcfHSOPWSbZy/s320/wabbit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />There were whitethroats in the orchard, probably the same pair as last week since they were busy foraging for food for their hungry chicks. On the way out to the hides the last remnants of the mist cleared and revealed the almost clear Elmley sky. There was very little wind and the water in the dykes and pools was millpond still, reflecting the blue sky above. I have photographed this group of rushes many times, I love its simplicity, and, with the sky reflected so clearly in the water surrounding it, I couldn’t resist just one more. This time the rushes appeared to sail across the calm waters of a surreal sky like some sort of fairy ship.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFd-2SyykTfdCrNYJrWocxmve_xLVYd9A2uUWWcWgK5hj_6iY1U6ru1Zwd8W8vectrsURprTzmIxS9BMtObSCpRx7EDyepTdsERxaGv53GL02Q-hBOd4T_sNoJU-VnPNAfHYYmKX5OYsra/s1600/whitethroathawthorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFd-2SyykTfdCrNYJrWocxmve_xLVYd9A2uUWWcWgK5hj_6iY1U6ru1Zwd8W8vectrsURprTzmIxS9BMtObSCpRx7EDyepTdsERxaGv53GL02Q-hBOd4T_sNoJU-VnPNAfHYYmKX5OYsra/s320/whitethroathawthorn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7osHDCfQKDWT84qr6mgIw3q5Utogs_oxsS64TGQXeA3Fe50V49z1ycwrnFgOu4Aeorxl4bSlXYWH9M7uCEX0Ytnbi1_Iqa9BY-JHYqNbXOqGLFBapEeVObSGPkYeHkji17oIlJRUKopVF/s1600/rushes-in-the-sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7osHDCfQKDWT84qr6mgIw3q5Utogs_oxsS64TGQXeA3Fe50V49z1ycwrnFgOu4Aeorxl4bSlXYWH9M7uCEX0Ytnbi1_Iqa9BY-JHYqNbXOqGLFBapEeVObSGPkYeHkji17oIlJRUKopVF/s320/rushes-in-the-sky.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />The islands on the scrape have been largely taken over by black headed gulls. They are raucous and bellicose and they will not tolerate any other birds in their airspace above the nests - everything is chased and harassed, benign or otherwise. Consequently I didn’t spend much time at the hide and I made my way slowly back to the car park. As I walked the sky began to cloud and the wind picked up. A short eared owl made a brief appearance and the local redshanks, protecting their young, vulnerable chicks, harangued it mercilessly. This is a sketch from last week when my encounter with the short eared was much longer and actually gave me the opportunity for some sketches.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkG0HAPrQcW38gCYbEML_TrTVUh2zumNMNGzLyU3uXmVtFZjk5GUdvCJKP8h9vYc3JKwebMvMnSzqxDvkh3XQLbdJszrW-VJDnOHx8PMFKKSYMswHmM0G1Ok6TxiPT5YT2zwHXePEfeiRw/s1600/under-attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkG0HAPrQcW38gCYbEML_TrTVUh2zumNMNGzLyU3uXmVtFZjk5GUdvCJKP8h9vYc3JKwebMvMnSzqxDvkh3XQLbdJszrW-VJDnOHx8PMFKKSYMswHmM0G1Ok6TxiPT5YT2zwHXePEfeiRw/s320/under-attack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15jn-82keQBcohGS1PbkKILKqboRk6kcVuRJFzgooUAvJMdDu_zeKzK9rfXTBuo3-2ZY5H9b5nKOUV4bwaFgbb28gKSWLlqU7iAy92J-KEAelFEhVc3KBiFg6IsMAxXZp9SHm_p7nbNRn/s1600/seo-elmly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15jn-82keQBcohGS1PbkKILKqboRk6kcVuRJFzgooUAvJMdDu_zeKzK9rfXTBuo3-2ZY5H9b5nKOUV4bwaFgbb28gKSWLlqU7iAy92J-KEAelFEhVc3KBiFg6IsMAxXZp9SHm_p7nbNRn/s320/seo-elmly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />As I write this I am listening to the incessant drumming of heavy rain on the conservatory roof. The awful weather has returned, once more Summer is on hold.Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-63014754647743353542011-06-30T03:50:00.000-07:002011-06-30T06:06:43.430-07:00New life and swift death<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7iulppPVyY-5_TKWw6t43cz3aUPbkuuQSHD-3y9k541Qcp1ejd_y4PeNCYXajiHp2nSgNQh44bKVfMeRn50Lbe-f_fXHX7I9NRMYQPs4ah-J4uhsd_S1dx1kwGp5XW0Yw9awkWSHwK6q/s1600/dawnskies.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 128px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7iulppPVyY-5_TKWw6t43cz3aUPbkuuQSHD-3y9k541Qcp1ejd_y4PeNCYXajiHp2nSgNQh44bKVfMeRn50Lbe-f_fXHX7I9NRMYQPs4ah-J4uhsd_S1dx1kwGp5XW0Yw9awkWSHwK6q/s400/dawnskies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623965338921667074" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Mists before dawn promised a clear day, a window in the relentless procession of grey, wet and windy days that seem to have characterised this early 'summer'. On the way to the reserve I looked out over the mudflats to where the rising sun had set the sky to glowing with metalic pinks and peaches and had lit up the smoke from the distant power station with delicate shades of lilac. Yes this promised to be a sweet summer day.<br /><br />In front of the car a green woodpecker took flight from the ground and banked away over a field filled with ragwort, the green and gold of the bird matching perfectly the green and gold of the flowers. Further on I spotted shapes moving in the mist soaked grass of an old orchard. Rabbits were quietly feeding alongside two juvenile green woodpeckers. It's easy to identify the juveniles of this species because, much like our own youth, they are covered in spots! One of the youngsters flew off into the trees but the other remained and went back to feeding. It kept a wary eye on me, stooping to feed then raising its head in a strangely snakelike way to peer over the grass at me.<br /><br />Off to the side of the road at one point is an alien looking landscape, like something imagined by a science fiction writer as the surface of a distant planet, there is a field filled with hundreds of strange mounds, wound about with tendrils of mist. These are known as 'Emmett humps'. They are the work of colonies of yellow meadow ants over years, 'Emmett' being an old word for ant.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTyQsCn8BWbOf7-NKnuMAIt6KNvgqPi6StgpB2sKvC0jggpNVc8Ja5Lp9pxxkrzqRTcRrg5zqbbhe1EzHAkNCLCuYQJUm8SFV0-6XkFe1U3NP2lTs45OrgDLvZes-UVSI3J5E_XHRBhFD/s1600/emmethumps.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTyQsCn8BWbOf7-NKnuMAIt6KNvgqPi6StgpB2sKvC0jggpNVc8Ja5Lp9pxxkrzqRTcRrg5zqbbhe1EzHAkNCLCuYQJUm8SFV0-6XkFe1U3NP2lTs45OrgDLvZes-UVSI3J5E_XHRBhFD/s400/emmethumps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623975586906585138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Despite the rising sun the Swale retained a thick blanket of low lying mist, the result of a hot and humid night of unsettled sleep. I stopped on the road at the entrance to the reserve to give the sun the time to warm the ground a little and allow the moisture to rise away and return to the sky, before I continued on to the farmhouse and the access track. The farm buildings were dripping with water and a surfeit of starlings. These noisy scoundrels filled every available edge and ledge. Those that survive will go on to make up some of the numbers of the enormous flocks of Autumn that are such a magnet for predators like the Merlin and the Peregrine.<br /><br />At the apex of one barn though there were no starlings. This was due to the presence of a family of kestrels that have bred in the barn's roof rafters this year. The youngsters are on the very edge of fledging now but still can't quite tear themselves away from the familiar safety and security of their birthplace.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ntVhcRgEaNdBeMR02DXZWjD5BdbBsKjp4eNeCwevnY9mv8ITsQLSIIUG2FMwhQijVMo-m0qZyzrld0d0Ku1eptcHryB8BBmmnBJjRDSQ0Ys_4ZGTDwdABJFgLfFn5vl2PzOX597-jeBn/s1600/youngkes.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 371px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ntVhcRgEaNdBeMR02DXZWjD5BdbBsKjp4eNeCwevnY9mv8ITsQLSIIUG2FMwhQijVMo-m0qZyzrld0d0Ku1eptcHryB8BBmmnBJjRDSQ0Ys_4ZGTDwdABJFgLfFn5vl2PzOX597-jeBn/s400/youngkes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623979872877308354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When the mist cleared and the sun was still low in the sky it created a glorious effect of light through the seed heads of the grass. They lit up against the green and waved gently like a vast hoard of people bearing golden flamed torches.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQT-yKQFuh9A2oRXpwH5WWhdpU_eFPDWj4hlga31G1eaeycSXKpuF40Hc10oUR426OVOqRHa7noHJzeFLZX65wy2pmKqsSOA0-RlD-sorDAWhRkM3bhtO0ncuskQm02N-WTthzbltfQww/s1600/goldfield.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQT-yKQFuh9A2oRXpwH5WWhdpU_eFPDWj4hlga31G1eaeycSXKpuF40Hc10oUR426OVOqRHa7noHJzeFLZX65wy2pmKqsSOA0-RlD-sorDAWhRkM3bhtO0ncuskQm02N-WTthzbltfQww/s400/goldfield.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623982606640830514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When I reached the car park I saw the unmistakable form of a barn owl hunting out over the grazing marsh. I positioned myself where I could see the nest box and at the entrance were two, well grown youngsters who, like the kestrels, were not far from fledging. I watched over the course of an hour or so and during that time the adults brought in four prey items, field voles from the look of them. The youngsters though didn't seem overly interested in the meals. This is good news, it means that they are well fed and the frequency with which the adults were returning with prey backs this up.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSx4VNurYFyIiY4v8wO2ajJ6OLHCYtzYaOiE4OS6uu8CgB8eMAOkDG7NCO7fKpPn6LQfUP1g224ugSd9fO_qlS3D7KoPX_N3orTHekHZv8X_OP_S4ZQBL-qQ9JnwQvoJFfcdjAg3IjW9E/s1600/bo1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 368px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSx4VNurYFyIiY4v8wO2ajJ6OLHCYtzYaOiE4OS6uu8CgB8eMAOkDG7NCO7fKpPn6LQfUP1g224ugSd9fO_qlS3D7KoPX_N3orTHekHZv8X_OP_S4ZQBL-qQ9JnwQvoJFfcdjAg3IjW9E/s400/bo1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623984613279493298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfJU19O4UIpKTsa_7RnpkMsfcc77K6nnZBB7FJRDZcgpDhyphenhyphenTEaeysy6IFRT0P5evVNMatxWT8-dg5X0eMylnaGtnT_e-Fri-BOfxKgeR-Q1YVJycr3Wa7vejVuF-p5MBdjRX6rY74BibK/s1600/bo2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 373px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfJU19O4UIpKTsa_7RnpkMsfcc77K6nnZBB7FJRDZcgpDhyphenhyphenTEaeysy6IFRT0P5evVNMatxWT8-dg5X0eMylnaGtnT_e-Fri-BOfxKgeR-Q1YVJycr3Wa7vejVuF-p5MBdjRX6rY74BibK/s400/bo2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623984751017419986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziGGalxt9d1bgHaOyEIJMVzmgBSPVuIUeoajbElbR5_8Idfb8tqDrxKM70R94BiLPqIcDEkbb17QTSPG3z-3V9VPGh7WNsU1BhoFnbZR6sZ3XtUYTWygM8V_HkJopBOl70Eeg50rjLpOC/s1600/bo3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziGGalxt9d1bgHaOyEIJMVzmgBSPVuIUeoajbElbR5_8Idfb8tqDrxKM70R94BiLPqIcDEkbb17QTSPG3z-3V9VPGh7WNsU1BhoFnbZR6sZ3XtUYTWygM8V_HkJopBOl70Eeg50rjLpOC/s400/bo3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623984910844262210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPBt8KxZ6tlOki5b0M1TCfAy_aleFOlqkIp7b5sJJzxbUHpIcUShncuYdYS3VaueE_zkk7KzQA6Y2nOykHUVajk35nO2tjgdqt2Se3kGMxZdk4Zj9lEDD15nU4osWkB5FZUe21ZMRR-dK/s1600/bo4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 395px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPBt8KxZ6tlOki5b0M1TCfAy_aleFOlqkIp7b5sJJzxbUHpIcUShncuYdYS3VaueE_zkk7KzQA6Y2nOykHUVajk35nO2tjgdqt2Se3kGMxZdk4Zj9lEDD15nU4osWkB5FZUe21ZMRR-dK/s400/bo4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623985032782278594" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-zyxBbg5g5mreA9617g3bc7hnD3kFON8fjep7ELqXfoaUT7EJtMCCX5CM_gzvPElr_SF6kjmKGLkDbKpFlSWHvjqvmZHfYWt-l6xVrwD_m1aj7tCB4jzxfTO5bROJWZ_a9FLEm-A0I0Y/s1600/bo6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 363px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-zyxBbg5g5mreA9617g3bc7hnD3kFON8fjep7ELqXfoaUT7EJtMCCX5CM_gzvPElr_SF6kjmKGLkDbKpFlSWHvjqvmZHfYWt-l6xVrwD_m1aj7tCB4jzxfTO5bROJWZ_a9FLEm-A0I0Y/s400/bo6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623985167497729730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7uT5x-LojJWz56ZG_By7RtzSEntvX253CUZeHL2LCuVVDoI3cPruiGHj7OQuWJ3Rt_7H0SdKSIkZmzeh9EuWaT9yFdx290rqEnkdVeHMZDdkVko4hjlJVmmGnGftWXGvoS0r-q-98G_Y/s1600/bo7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 114px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7uT5x-LojJWz56ZG_By7RtzSEntvX253CUZeHL2LCuVVDoI3cPruiGHj7OQuWJ3Rt_7H0SdKSIkZmzeh9EuWaT9yFdx290rqEnkdVeHMZDdkVko4hjlJVmmGnGftWXGvoS0r-q-98G_Y/s400/bo7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623985329330203106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9w8kwZOF4BzAp5J1sVNNYogDkABx1m4F9-O1jNtpEH4MRKDROkNCf-tPZnUVdNJ-M3r64lBdgVSrL8oZEWfPn3mKFAmVulCB_VkuDd_wamdv3O-vGpZaGqUzI5ONZeIVyRYg38LiJqLZW/s1600/bo8.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 378px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9w8kwZOF4BzAp5J1sVNNYogDkABx1m4F9-O1jNtpEH4MRKDROkNCf-tPZnUVdNJ-M3r64lBdgVSrL8oZEWfPn3mKFAmVulCB_VkuDd_wamdv3O-vGpZaGqUzI5ONZeIVyRYg38LiJqLZW/s400/bo8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623985442287451762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iXXSDHK8H8X-B8o_JUFPLw1D80pjRXzsXtuNHxwEPtjLt8uKmcsc4azCacKJhMWyWKCY5__vSKdvUx-DXobr0FNuxXNIGt7nVkEo03hzVE96Nh4s3ZZjewqwqrp8wsZCe4Kj6m6qQ_dq/s1600/bo9.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iXXSDHK8H8X-B8o_JUFPLw1D80pjRXzsXtuNHxwEPtjLt8uKmcsc4azCacKJhMWyWKCY5__vSKdvUx-DXobr0FNuxXNIGt7nVkEo03hzVE96Nh4s3ZZjewqwqrp8wsZCe4Kj6m6qQ_dq/s400/bo9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623985535338257682" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Watching the barn owls coming in with bundles of protein clutched in their eager talons it's easy to view the story from just one perspective; The new life of the owletts is sustained by the numbers of prey and the parent birds' hunting abilities. But there is a flip side to this, the voles' lives are abruptly ended to provide food for the growing birds. There is no moralistic slant to this, it is simply the way it is; Life for some comes at the price of death for others.<br /><br />I was reminded of just how swift and close death on the marsh can be whilst watching a moorhen leading her brood of three chicks around the water's edge. They were quite endearing little creatures, comical almost, nothing much more than blobs of black fluff propelled on impossibly thin legs and ridiculously large feet. They were pootling around, pecking at everything, beginning to learn what is edible and what is not, when, without warning, a lesser black backed gull swept down and snatched one of them. The gull grabbed the chick by the head and its powerful beak crushed the skull of the little bird easily. The gull flew on for a few yards, just to be clear of the startled and aggressive moorhen mother, then it landed and tossed the chick into its mouth, swallowing it in one. It then took off and flew away over the scrape. Death was swift indeed for the moorhen chick, the whole episode lasted less than 30 seconds.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeO2GPGX2t2n0tgnYNPUn6c9XIEa-ob-Sff8EozmxzMeN0WEX_sXtVqr2840kpVyT8LN4spkTJaEKyM2o75-CqHNK1DVpTbb28ZcTBjdNmT5PGlwfNqhr2iI9Uc-qECGn5W41gmbSmmJ3/s1600/lbb.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeO2GPGX2t2n0tgnYNPUn6c9XIEa-ob-Sff8EozmxzMeN0WEX_sXtVqr2840kpVyT8LN4spkTJaEKyM2o75-CqHNK1DVpTbb28ZcTBjdNmT5PGlwfNqhr2iI9Uc-qECGn5W41gmbSmmJ3/s400/lbb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623989979207702290" border="0" /></a><br /><br />By the time I had to leave the reserve at around 9.30 the sun was blazing hot and there was a shimmering heat haze making a distant buzzard waver and warp in my view through the scope. For once the singing of skylarks didn't seem out of place.<br /><br />Summer on the reserve just as it should be, the dramas of new life and swift death continuing just as they always have under the heat and light of the sun.Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-60361345554562024932011-05-11T03:48:00.000-07:002011-05-11T04:56:22.942-07:00Spring towards summer part deuxThe birds of summer have taken over from the winter visitors. The huge flocks of wigeon are gone and the brent geese have returned to Greenland, Canada, Russia and Siberia to breed. Our greylag geese remain as they are resident, but I always think of them as a winter bird even though I can see them all year round. Their stocky, sculptural build makes them great subjects to sketch.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAAXxZDqUdBuIQLwjKQ_oBfF2oEBa3mz2-JpbAeSwm96zjadItQV2vxqQcn0vN57gqxZwup4D9L3cjn3RO_8wAaGTZOMXwIgy9PNKjVHKA5ht8wT5LUNIjs1lLxCY5-cvyK542Q_ZrUeO/s1600/brents1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAAXxZDqUdBuIQLwjKQ_oBfF2oEBa3mz2-JpbAeSwm96zjadItQV2vxqQcn0vN57gqxZwup4D9L3cjn3RO_8wAaGTZOMXwIgy9PNKjVHKA5ht8wT5LUNIjs1lLxCY5-cvyK542Q_ZrUeO/s400/brents1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605425824826349122" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Brent geese sketches.</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJgmz9c3SHDvzyhQKi7jpYUpoFY0j-YJv4D8VTkSf_BA1E75N-vr2A9qhplDb-f_TGOOlFqS0Kes9Rb-gCIwrrjHR1hYwhV8iIVplBHf747I1BbJNDUZVILdWjQjtKodWjq957vW_uQgb/s1600/glags1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJgmz9c3SHDvzyhQKi7jpYUpoFY0j-YJv4D8VTkSf_BA1E75N-vr2A9qhplDb-f_TGOOlFqS0Kes9Rb-gCIwrrjHR1hYwhV8iIVplBHf747I1BbJNDUZVILdWjQjtKodWjq957vW_uQgb/s400/glags1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605409156280866866" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpZy9vDcTY26dchENNp9T6o8mPgeuqKQERXOJvXP6hlIDoIkQBcfp2mt-BZLbNVbLeItdW2bl9hlZaknoOeTGQkEijTpQyEtO9bY0hA1yQ1Mwgql4rk9vclBU0NVGNYhn65H-JhppWUcQ/s1600/glags2.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpZy9vDcTY26dchENNp9T6o8mPgeuqKQERXOJvXP6hlIDoIkQBcfp2mt-BZLbNVbLeItdW2bl9hlZaknoOeTGQkEijTpQyEtO9bY0hA1yQ1Mwgql4rk9vclBU0NVGNYhn65H-JhppWUcQ/s400/glags2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605409348290039170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Greylag geese sketches.</span></span><br /><br />Little owls are resident here too, although they’re more difficult to see in the summer when the foliage bursts out on the trees. As anyone who has ever read this blog or looked at my website before will know, I’ll always sketch them if I see them, they are such great characters. Another great bird that is difficult to see at the best of times is the tawny owl, in the summer, hidden close to the trunks of trees and obscured behind leaves they are almost impossible to see at their day roosts. Luckily I know of a pair that are regularly in the same group of trees and every year, before the buds break into leaf, I visit them to see them and, hopefully, their chicks once they branch.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6EdreWCRL5qv5_28K5lS_OQOe6rXDR7egb8FrvG4Dv43qePAWodYv15LmalPQanBmgdP81POt_8jd4MkJKZG5EZttON9x7VUTzCnyNtXZMl-rsN1HmBiSl4fLZT9-QaMFz1FCakmr6-P/s1600/lilowl.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6EdreWCRL5qv5_28K5lS_OQOe6rXDR7egb8FrvG4Dv43qePAWodYv15LmalPQanBmgdP81POt_8jd4MkJKZG5EZttON9x7VUTzCnyNtXZMl-rsN1HmBiSl4fLZT9-QaMFz1FCakmr6-P/s400/lilowl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605409862151573314" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOgd2S0Du-k5DfpI3crsnUCOJJyU2mXiOBBbzVorEI5E2Bb9K_oillwJZYLmkghdmO8MMlYeok5ehOD4j7L0IXsQGJOrWtf0B7CzaRXf7Z7qOoazsUDWVnxxVAihVDwRoP3DjCnLcIDGf/s1600/springtawny.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOgd2S0Du-k5DfpI3crsnUCOJJyU2mXiOBBbzVorEI5E2Bb9K_oillwJZYLmkghdmO8MMlYeok5ehOD4j7L0IXsQGJOrWtf0B7CzaRXf7Z7qOoazsUDWVnxxVAihVDwRoP3DjCnLcIDGf/s400/springtawny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605410024986509186" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sleeping little owl sketch. Spring tawny owl, acrylic on illustration board</span></span>.<br /><br />The lapwing flocks of winter have dispersed and individual birds have paired and are breeding. The first chicks appeared a couple of weeks ago and now all through the rough grass little balls of speckled fluff scurry about, watched over by their ever vigilant parents. The youngsters look like they’re made from woolen balls stolen from the tops of knitted bobble hats from the ‘70s.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdrsqYNyijyBxP0YgP2QMIl_X_DyYu0Lpp6qwyAeUBGng7B8-w_-d3p1jkPIU704YKRgCEcWR_FK9HT6yUD4q8k1tdI7I1TfBjRe2kO2wRErEKLeUVtuMe4eVtiy4ExdoFZbCMSRxBFlr/s1600/lap1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdrsqYNyijyBxP0YgP2QMIl_X_DyYu0Lpp6qwyAeUBGng7B8-w_-d3p1jkPIU704YKRgCEcWR_FK9HT6yUD4q8k1tdI7I1TfBjRe2kO2wRErEKLeUVtuMe4eVtiy4ExdoFZbCMSRxBFlr/s400/lap1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605411360295732258" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifclMib_bXLdAgD_x1IVd87A0Jn8sTUZoKLloHGvF3GNrvb6_ZKkhZWeYh5HeCX8V59Ly682HHycjt5TGPa82dttNRjg24lmuIeWWpB1wTSLLPfcC4zrWYHDKOAo3kSwhKjal_4PnKMGIo/s1600/sumlaps.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 327px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifclMib_bXLdAgD_x1IVd87A0Jn8sTUZoKLloHGvF3GNrvb6_ZKkhZWeYh5HeCX8V59Ly682HHycjt5TGPa82dttNRjg24lmuIeWWpB1wTSLLPfcC4zrWYHDKOAo3kSwhKjal_4PnKMGIo/s400/sumlaps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605411611004516786" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lapwing sketches</span></span>.<br /><br />There have been flocks of Mediterranean gulls on Elmley reserve lately, sometimes up to c150 birds. They are a handsome looking gull that used to be pretty scarce in the UK. Indeed, up until around the 1950’s it was a decidedly rare bird. Their range has been expanding rapidly over the past twenty or so years and now, at times, they seem to outnumber the more familiar black headed gull. They’re very welcome as far as I’m concerned, the sound they make is distinctive and, as I said, they are a very handsome gull.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5IUVRMlvoneZpNqL-YBb7gwHpSoTqo-s9KBDn17ANtlCzCywjANvByKMQj3YDZzbjk-UeO7LXV0q1o7zsVx3RidCZHDJtlqZ5g16ErbXYLd671pQmWwr40OISI4m_XAGlqZ3AFUGRbQP/s1600/bhg.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5IUVRMlvoneZpNqL-YBb7gwHpSoTqo-s9KBDn17ANtlCzCywjANvByKMQj3YDZzbjk-UeO7LXV0q1o7zsVx3RidCZHDJtlqZ5g16ErbXYLd671pQmWwr40OISI4m_XAGlqZ3AFUGRbQP/s400/bhg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605412235664095042" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOywDPoXWdR88ffhmU7hyE6AdUFE_AW6jzK1aFb4Bf_40SQF9Oj3-ER0w5S9Lj03053uP2lsILB4ztUUAqTDyEIhh_m9bEp0N6PzlcYmNqYweGq-Z6dKJrhKWeY9ipr_FYe_Vgj8z1-Uo/s1600/medandbhg.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOywDPoXWdR88ffhmU7hyE6AdUFE_AW6jzK1aFb4Bf_40SQF9Oj3-ER0w5S9Lj03053uP2lsILB4ztUUAqTDyEIhh_m9bEp0N6PzlcYmNqYweGq-Z6dKJrhKWeY9ipr_FYe_Vgj8z1-Uo/s400/medandbhg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605412391785786882" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Black headed gull sketch. Mediterranean gull (front) and black headed gull (rear).</span></span><br /><br />The scrapes are now totally dominated by the avocets and the sound of their constant bubbling chatter fills the hides. In the early morning the sunlight slants across the water and the strong shadows it makes help to describe the avocets’ delicate forms. Avocets are a really beautiful bird, elegant and refined to look at, all flowing lines and smooth curves. But their personality belies their looks, they are aggressive and irritable and, at breeding time, they won’t tolerate any intrusion from any species it seems.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzA9uz6Oiat9l2gvnVYfoZauGWXee0jGFWCAswNIhIYaVtYXJflVvgsl0r78uniXKwr_qqSY5nTpXYphGjkuqqkSqqYwnYW7qteZcvlTuiHdgISav78D_dBmuLbcc0niSmbUL0PrPStKk/s1600/avo2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzA9uz6Oiat9l2gvnVYfoZauGWXee0jGFWCAswNIhIYaVtYXJflVvgsl0r78uniXKwr_qqSY5nTpXYphGjkuqqkSqqYwnYW7qteZcvlTuiHdgISav78D_dBmuLbcc0niSmbUL0PrPStKk/s400/avo2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605413370254489410" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikK_jjoFQ_eKTSNMelWDPY29e0guhpP3MxNsXc_Yd55u2s2O93ihrRpdRWYzlLEqlhPe4l5ePgucCgbIe_rm4cEf23Wo9N_s0cSpLldFYaCo_aGsHwgZMDEnccOSR5kg9x08GsN-tK2wH0/s1600/avo3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikK_jjoFQ_eKTSNMelWDPY29e0guhpP3MxNsXc_Yd55u2s2O93ihrRpdRWYzlLEqlhPe4l5ePgucCgbIe_rm4cEf23Wo9N_s0cSpLldFYaCo_aGsHwgZMDEnccOSR5kg9x08GsN-tK2wH0/s400/avo3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605413571007920482" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6O9Ufwc8GNQ4OzE4E3X4ypUvctDmxNUM-PCGySePqRl1VbxbmNGRwOWY1VH_gs8hvwl1OVFlXqNs0K4MhCU2RYABDcCyZr4dZTlOjAoRH3eCpN-KbtDDa07G8G6OBw4EA3myLspE6XtJ/s1600/avo4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6O9Ufwc8GNQ4OzE4E3X4ypUvctDmxNUM-PCGySePqRl1VbxbmNGRwOWY1VH_gs8hvwl1OVFlXqNs0K4MhCU2RYABDcCyZr4dZTlOjAoRH3eCpN-KbtDDa07G8G6OBw4EA3myLspE6XtJ/s400/avo4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605413766076930178" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yosWKyH5oysjUyqYTWMNBSKw30TAWx2B81o10tTQHmrP3zQEh0Z6PcYlNy9lwQ_Mk7pXJExghrLJNK2fsbBZpx_hWyH7UyhodRPwZfyhbComEA8ha4n5XlroFpz91hwio7ethFLHAwiM/s1600/avo5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3yosWKyH5oysjUyqYTWMNBSKw30TAWx2B81o10tTQHmrP3zQEh0Z6PcYlNy9lwQ_Mk7pXJExghrLJNK2fsbBZpx_hWyH7UyhodRPwZfyhbComEA8ha4n5XlroFpz91hwio7ethFLHAwiM/s400/avo5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605413900190017346" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_htxa-NVeSGMam1UO7rsPUAD3Bd1tP-IilQBEL1TV1YJAlOxu50aopfGeOaz_js1xD7xc7fHruXT7Ca4k3a2KaqJGX69nkoA0fuUyOa45JrOkT71xd26kYF3BGDP1iPijtL8qAVWv-0-/s1600/avoa2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_htxa-NVeSGMam1UO7rsPUAD3Bd1tP-IilQBEL1TV1YJAlOxu50aopfGeOaz_js1xD7xc7fHruXT7Ca4k3a2KaqJGX69nkoA0fuUyOa45JrOkT71xd26kYF3BGDP1iPijtL8qAVWv-0-/s400/avoa2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605414154633563314" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_2-1_M9JHxkttWYp1p2qFi0KgFpDbq_L07VVIXnuM8oFCQnVW538Bj1BGSXwHYX-yxRvDpIRyxzIneol-TIhLWGYJfy22eaQ85ZbzFrgdS0I3qdR5IpsU_oGGpw0jrEL_tQF4w8LuDka/s1600/avos-in-light3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_2-1_M9JHxkttWYp1p2qFi0KgFpDbq_L07VVIXnuM8oFCQnVW538Bj1BGSXwHYX-yxRvDpIRyxzIneol-TIhLWGYJfy22eaQ85ZbzFrgdS0I3qdR5IpsU_oGGpw0jrEL_tQF4w8LuDka/s400/avos-in-light3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605414398684696066" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Avocet sketches.<br /><br /></span></span>Amongst the best of the delights of summer on the marshes are the abundant yellow wagtails that flit around in the grass, on the road, and on the gates and fences that pepper the grazing fields. When the sun hits them from a clear blue sky they glow the brightest and purest of yellows. Less welcome for me are the swarms of mosquitoes that gather over the water or over my head! The wagtails must love them though as they represent a copious and ever present food for them and their chicks.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcj2svmf_f-QId7OrwMfnXf9edfQna5GAYHcuIgcrRZQdjRko_zNhDua2r5thDEXgLEeMH7mNiHrdqAs2tVsK8qfzdXXBO-yECbP5UJ68vjwhs4wRche6Vpl6bW4pAJD8In2ivfUMEQTU/s1600/firstof-the-ywags.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcj2svmf_f-QId7OrwMfnXf9edfQna5GAYHcuIgcrRZQdjRko_zNhDua2r5thDEXgLEeMH7mNiHrdqAs2tVsK8qfzdXXBO-yECbP5UJ68vjwhs4wRche6Vpl6bW4pAJD8In2ivfUMEQTU/s400/firstof-the-ywags.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605415914506732498" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_L3gz7_L5ogNWfkEcZV1yZdWzdAbsgqt6whSzog6WZDT9Vtvn9WYKPKe9ZocyLxNuph5TNOdq1osWmyeNmFWSoIdgx6Usk_WrgdZJ_etywudaLO518UaDRIfcw_1TrFSxy76XKg_NPqYm/s1600/ywagmossies.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_L3gz7_L5ogNWfkEcZV1yZdWzdAbsgqt6whSzog6WZDT9Vtvn9WYKPKe9ZocyLxNuph5TNOdq1osWmyeNmFWSoIdgx6Usk_WrgdZJ_etywudaLO518UaDRIfcw_1TrFSxy76XKg_NPqYm/s400/ywagmossies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605416496292261314" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sketches of the first yellow wagtails of the year and a male in strong sunshine from last week.</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjnBJIuxTczYoNPXS47UdMxk1SThOdatvwN9p4on0yValFpTWUNJcKRKTLsCMeNTa-eYUV5WwuKWHRbDNAgFwpC-IYwsi-SZObhNID_0BD1_6j3IaNB3sA8KGkiZmdHZvzpKPs4vQpph9/s1600/yelowag026.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjnBJIuxTczYoNPXS47UdMxk1SThOdatvwN9p4on0yValFpTWUNJcKRKTLsCMeNTa-eYUV5WwuKWHRbDNAgFwpC-IYwsi-SZObhNID_0BD1_6j3IaNB3sA8KGkiZmdHZvzpKPs4vQpph9/s400/yelowag026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605417355580459906" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Yellow wagtail and mosquitoes,<br />acrylic on illustration board.<br /></span></span>Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-90209236299960336302011-03-24T15:36:00.001-07:002011-03-24T15:45:23.305-07:00Spring towards Summer<span lang="EN-US">At last it seems that Spring is breaking free from the shackles of Winter.</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> Just this week I have seen the first Bumble Bee of the year bumbling around the garden looking for a suitable nesting place and in London I watched as a brimstone butterfly fluttered around in the sun as if it were the height of Summer. In the garden the blackbird is singing and protecting his lady, the sparrows squabble for dominance and the starlings are gleaming and glossy. On the marshes the lapwings are displaying, swooping down and up with a loud ‘peewit’ and the rush of air through primaries, joining in ritual overhead battle with rivals. Avocets have returned to the scrapes and they are chasing anything that dares to land on their island claims.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> I have seen the mating of urban peregrines, brief encounters high on the office rooftops. I have been lucky enough to have been watching one pair since last summer. All through the winter they have been resident on a girder that runs the length of an ugly, ‘60s designed block, lending a grace and beauty that only comes when nature invades the grey spaces of the city. It seems that the pair may have relocated to another place to lay their eggs and raise their young though as they have been absent for some while now. It’s disappointing for me but I wish them well wherever they’ve gone to.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Summer this year will be different for us because, for the first time in six years, we won’t be going to the farm in Norfolk. Instead we will be flying off to Singapore for three weeks. To say that I’m excited by the prospect would be something of an understatement! Exotic birds and wildlife await and there is a sketchbook tucked away ready for its moment in the sun. We’ll miss the farm though, as will our friends who’ve accompanied us for all those holidays. As a little reminder I’ve painted one of our friends in a favourite spot where she likes to paint by the fishing lake.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Summer on the marshes can be wonderfully peaceful, with the sounds of a million insects humming along to the songs of skylarks. Herons stalk the shallow dykes among the reeds and rushes, barely disturbing the surface of the water until, in a lightning fast strike their heads dart in to capture some unwary fish or perhaps a frog or newt. It’s this hazy, hot, still, summer’s day feeling that I have tried to capture in my latest painting ‘Summer Heron’.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgKDLnWlrjbq4jXNDcDF9DjpS3RWMKDdoKFuBcJJuitHTe6Jhq3Wy78Btm9eJGGbzzLrpVj79FDrNjEJJWxu4jQrQ2-7F9XUCaySxAYndWNY_UNqydMm4WUy26QwzH39fjx7llqOriQzo/s1600/pere1-03-03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 359px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgKDLnWlrjbq4jXNDcDF9DjpS3RWMKDdoKFuBcJJuitHTe6Jhq3Wy78Btm9eJGGbzzLrpVj79FDrNjEJJWxu4jQrQ2-7F9XUCaySxAYndWNY_UNqydMm4WUy26QwzH39fjx7llqOriQzo/s400/pere1-03-03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587780251309574866" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuEJwA8L-sIuOHhk1paLzOPDqyuWnxWW_kWLpyMG64yxm54RCerm0pku_AgTKkUq3iw4iopYSrot6K_vF94MN12AzvVq-HzKfIUAHIFE-BjtMkkQVnh3PtKp_bixMFKsXMFZ_GmXF4IW1/s1600/padpairnotes1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuEJwA8L-sIuOHhk1paLzOPDqyuWnxWW_kWLpyMG64yxm54RCerm0pku_AgTKkUq3iw4iopYSrot6K_vF94MN12AzvVq-HzKfIUAHIFE-BjtMkkQVnh3PtKp_bixMFKsXMFZ_GmXF4IW1/s400/padpairnotes1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587780061100346914" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoMFGG14n-VPUgQ0sCeSfg9cvbLMxSUFMuzlzEw27MqndAri93i4KErWA-3IxF5Wi9R0etUQedgYkmnGETfSZT6ZNPd84vGojhQyRdma-QmxglRRcJ-9sXb78Q98NWz_8jN0GTDcC4Wgv/s1600/pere1-04-03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoMFGG14n-VPUgQ0sCeSfg9cvbLMxSUFMuzlzEw27MqndAri93i4KErWA-3IxF5Wi9R0etUQedgYkmnGETfSZT6ZNPd84vGojhQyRdma-QmxglRRcJ-9sXb78Q98NWz_8jN0GTDcC4Wgv/s400/pere1-04-03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587780391781828146" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6F-_-dpwt3RldJ-fyx5G0sk3zO3VTpZBl_d9Bhe3pEAIRwksvAcsflv64rXDuZe82hIYEOYa3vyUnrASnB_tajRtOSRblPhxpkTI8_FXShVNo36tKgJevkY7ZhYhFzLLOk5_x-MRXCNs/s1600/urban-pere1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 359px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6F-_-dpwt3RldJ-fyx5G0sk3zO3VTpZBl_d9Bhe3pEAIRwksvAcsflv64rXDuZe82hIYEOYa3vyUnrASnB_tajRtOSRblPhxpkTI8_FXShVNo36tKgJevkY7ZhYhFzLLOk5_x-MRXCNs/s400/urban-pere1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587780734105111234" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZcZTTlbNnxUA2uHk28g1SbZZhEvUe3d6DSYWgCeFcyvu7a6KDwYIXd64FtQRwGXP-VcLURDTRWKqEaumAJ2vgXECA-JYQy9pYc9-HkHczqa09n8_giymhoXnUk10bnM6fKE38WkqUdYa/s1600/neesie-paintin.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZcZTTlbNnxUA2uHk28g1SbZZhEvUe3d6DSYWgCeFcyvu7a6KDwYIXd64FtQRwGXP-VcLURDTRWKqEaumAJ2vgXECA-JYQy9pYc9-HkHczqa09n8_giymhoXnUk10bnM6fKE38WkqUdYa/s400/neesie-paintin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587780865175567042" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQ_i3sEbilN69josJYH_fdwysBlUxTGy4nEuz4Lj9BBJzVo_-wmONKvc6lgrkyfo2HVlFO0Xbbejkk3mOrX_nHae2veBKO1l0stIvxNz-vQ4jW1vDz-KzLefoCMMiDxOIGuwpPcWe1gHx/s1600/summer_heron.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQ_i3sEbilN69josJYH_fdwysBlUxTGy4nEuz4Lj9BBJzVo_-wmONKvc6lgrkyfo2HVlFO0Xbbejkk3mOrX_nHae2veBKO1l0stIvxNz-vQ4jW1vDz-KzLefoCMMiDxOIGuwpPcWe1gHx/s400/summer_heron.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587781076615398194" border="0" /></a></p>Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-70128849520438051332011-03-02T13:33:00.000-08:002011-03-02T13:41:48.294-08:00Two crows and a hawk<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8gn5MCXzLZxPHrSpmLfHf_duB9XgxIhBcXWmWF-XOzZSupogrChZd4uDpUVXRpt5wI1SrOQWFuuAKhZylnriekwAAx1SlLdRA-bMqQVxO6BeZK6iNdX_fK-kVvv2QOohtfH-B7K8hcN9/s1600/spar2.jpg"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> </a><p class="MsoNormal">Last week’s trip to Elmley was made despite some of the greyest, coldest weather we've yet seen this year, plus the prospect of a low tide and no birds on the scrape.<br /><br />I think the weather was too cold even for the birds to want to venture out onto the mud of the Swale though and there was some activity in front of the hide. After scanning the flocks of wigeon, shoveller, mallard and teal I put the scope to the far shore where snipe hide in the scraggy rushes and grasses and their cryptic plumage with its stripes and flecks can render them invisible.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I got a couple of crows in the scope and watched them as their attention seemed caught by a particular clump of dead grass. I managed to make out a bundle of feathers lifting in the wind and at first I thought the crows had found a corpse, but the feathers moved and resolved themselves into a young male sparrowhawk, obviously on a kill which interested the crows.<br /><br />They circled the spar like Native Americans around a wagon train in an old John Wayne movie. All the time the spar kept a wary eye on them until he'd had enough and he made a jump at one of the pair which convinced them to stay back a bit and let the feisty little raptor get on with his business in peace for a while.<br /><br />So there he sat, sometimes hidden, but turning around on his kill so that he came back into view from time to time. After a reasonably lengthy sketching session of 15 minutes or so the crows returned and this time the spar made a break for it across the scrape carrying what was left of his prize (possibly a starling as it was small and dark). He went into cover with the crows in hot pursuit and I lost sight of him. Whether the spar was able to hang onto his kill or whether the crows won the day I’ll never know but at least the diminutive hawk had had the time to eat some of his kill.<br /><br />I then went back to scanning the reeds and finally saw a group of at least eight snipe all well in the deep cover and only betrayed by their occasional movement and one bird on the fringes, not quite as well hidden as the others. Into the sketchbook he went. By this time though my hands were numb with cold and I think some of my bones were beginning to crack so it was time to call it a day and return home for a large mug of coffee and a slice of toast.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But the trip had been a success despite my initial misgivings. There’s always something new to see!</p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8gn5MCXzLZxPHrSpmLfHf_duB9XgxIhBcXWmWF-XOzZSupogrChZd4uDpUVXRpt5wI1SrOQWFuuAKhZylnriekwAAx1SlLdRA-bMqQVxO6BeZK6iNdX_fK-kVvv2QOohtfH-B7K8hcN9/s1600/spar2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 343px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8gn5MCXzLZxPHrSpmLfHf_duB9XgxIhBcXWmWF-XOzZSupogrChZd4uDpUVXRpt5wI1SrOQWFuuAKhZylnriekwAAx1SlLdRA-bMqQVxO6BeZK6iNdX_fK-kVvv2QOohtfH-B7K8hcN9/s400/spar2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599309807510818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh983d8WtWh6xPUu_30lVcm_pjEMjOVor3M9xbs5EwoRCRB7j1HeZ95AdUS8luUJt_-dWNvHSL-xdgcmptz1b6x_szSxMYG0sJ_gBMnqC-NXDVqWSUBcRdUDL9Rm6XHpMcT2Sm8wSlB0D27/s1600/spar8.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh983d8WtWh6xPUu_30lVcm_pjEMjOVor3M9xbs5EwoRCRB7j1HeZ95AdUS8luUJt_-dWNvHSL-xdgcmptz1b6x_szSxMYG0sJ_gBMnqC-NXDVqWSUBcRdUDL9Rm6XHpMcT2Sm8wSlB0D27/s400/spar8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599549214665602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFpcJHOMoZRgZXI4JoQP7zletm_qlJGSog99W2clI2f5ai8kU5f9QCuwYL2pUe7zaQb27P0MICfTBfQGP-ZHwskM17_rxx7Q-7AyPUvBbdAHHrDFo3zGSvuIAu97GKwR-Vmxws_VfiEAA/s1600/spar7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFpcJHOMoZRgZXI4JoQP7zletm_qlJGSog99W2clI2f5ai8kU5f9QCuwYL2pUe7zaQb27P0MICfTBfQGP-ZHwskM17_rxx7Q-7AyPUvBbdAHHrDFo3zGSvuIAu97GKwR-Vmxws_VfiEAA/s400/spar7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599543931756034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHx-l7XBFIiQ8X9cXDbrpFLfd1U3uJE5Bxi64aCePrI63av3lSSsHokxGA2Nhh8bXeCgDTyMGes_b0LkiNHRrukm878-gEGchpNB0rjaV-vuCRd2sqwUiyTXMrcdmUT1HVBV132rorruO/s1600/spar6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHx-l7XBFIiQ8X9cXDbrpFLfd1U3uJE5Bxi64aCePrI63av3lSSsHokxGA2Nhh8bXeCgDTyMGes_b0LkiNHRrukm878-gEGchpNB0rjaV-vuCRd2sqwUiyTXMrcdmUT1HVBV132rorruO/s400/spar6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599541113608674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYyhZiZ9cWSJhcPNaLUGlHf49j4X5ySbrhs1w3pRIKEJNnlAYpEXN5RL_-EJRH5yV63FVQEzpoJp_W4OuhqsDuGjdMbwEWvR0yvwtyhSEY843BEve1yQji2Um-ncRO4g-lLLSS17vlBtl/s1600/spar5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 323px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYyhZiZ9cWSJhcPNaLUGlHf49j4X5ySbrhs1w3pRIKEJNnlAYpEXN5RL_-EJRH5yV63FVQEzpoJp_W4OuhqsDuGjdMbwEWvR0yvwtyhSEY843BEve1yQji2Um-ncRO4g-lLLSS17vlBtl/s400/spar5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599326891243522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUCLfgo-r2BvdFp-G_ezjYCoLONrx1QIAaZsC4O9ED5IGkGZOcwV_shdI7uE7KGFm6YOLsbXQHgVNUNGbgcOSLSNpAux1_KYXbGUddmsCUsUAQV5shlHpS9sRAc7TBF0tWzWgk4qtQxDG/s1600/spar4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUCLfgo-r2BvdFp-G_ezjYCoLONrx1QIAaZsC4O9ED5IGkGZOcwV_shdI7uE7KGFm6YOLsbXQHgVNUNGbgcOSLSNpAux1_KYXbGUddmsCUsUAQV5shlHpS9sRAc7TBF0tWzWgk4qtQxDG/s400/spar4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599323530478050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnJl4U4sfdSeRqqYYE7x1pP7UxlVHEw8AyoOSx4oaQPxb7MPV9CVnq6ucoJi4t8_qMjdftQSAkKax7o11l3pf85vjsvVaf2ux6zxr0JH72d5l37T8ffTgROzkAzJnKBSZkDZhNF9umQOq/s1600/spar3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnJl4U4sfdSeRqqYYE7x1pP7UxlVHEw8AyoOSx4oaQPxb7MPV9CVnq6ucoJi4t8_qMjdftQSAkKax7o11l3pf85vjsvVaf2ux6zxr0JH72d5l37T8ffTgROzkAzJnKBSZkDZhNF9umQOq/s400/spar3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599318927708370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNq5GfXDrxgZ8dWVHDBPwD12SThGRw0jTbAtpC1CEbwrU7Hg-iL4ZZS7DtBZG91qEOb0awCiIWDcoxPQj7MggDJR6H7FMowNgcE39I0MFfr15y_YCgYSKQ0DzMvsEsM_-DOBf5RRKDyT1/s1600/spar1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNq5GfXDrxgZ8dWVHDBPwD12SThGRw0jTbAtpC1CEbwrU7Hg-iL4ZZS7DtBZG91qEOb0awCiIWDcoxPQj7MggDJR6H7FMowNgcE39I0MFfr15y_YCgYSKQ0DzMvsEsM_-DOBf5RRKDyT1/s400/spar1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599305096808018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oKw4VrZMCrDvZ9xxkeq_qN7k1sC9n2R0IYszqkWP2s1-eSE42mtQlfiBlTeB4_g-OEoCkuDq2FjDfOsPnqR-LQgrgzDKaLCDILEJ6C9hUZqOK4x_nODz7_xJNMzXtQ7oV1JMwnnMnruw/s1600/andasnipe.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oKw4VrZMCrDvZ9xxkeq_qN7k1sC9n2R0IYszqkWP2s1-eSE42mtQlfiBlTeB4_g-OEoCkuDq2FjDfOsPnqR-LQgrgzDKaLCDILEJ6C9hUZqOK4x_nODz7_xJNMzXtQ7oV1JMwnnMnruw/s400/andasnipe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579599554687961746" border="0" /></a>Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-921174032696757432011-02-13T14:51:00.000-08:002011-02-13T15:12:38.776-08:00Not long now<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDN3okALOCR186RavA0bCbYJdagutdHmFido9hhghAOvjcNmiRbbDUmJNfc08WXfd_ASzXjh6tbwR7pLzajTTJ2L0oQm0yjBI9rQIf3JWq8FUjC6vWn33AUPv2QpVP6kisu_jStJ8wJ16S/s1600/elmley-in-the-rain.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDN3okALOCR186RavA0bCbYJdagutdHmFido9hhghAOvjcNmiRbbDUmJNfc08WXfd_ASzXjh6tbwR7pLzajTTJ2L0oQm0yjBI9rQIf3JWq8FUjC6vWn33AUPv2QpVP6kisu_jStJ8wJ16S/s400/elmley-in-the-rain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573310044506108114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Elmley was bleak this morning and it was cold. Not the crisp, clean cold of deep Winter, but a dirty, grey cold, one that no amount of layers seemed able to keep out. Across the grey landscape grey clouds scudded, ripped and torn to shapeless shreds by an urgent and insistent wind racing in from the grey Swale, laden with the tangy scents of salt and mud. Drizzle driven by the same wind was flung into my face, it felt like fine sand and made my eyes water with emotionless tears. The cries of curlew whined out across the marsh and even the bubbling laughter of little grebes seemed more mournful than cheerful.<br /><br />But perhaps it shouldn't have sounded so. Perhaps their laughter should have had the ring of hope. Because these are the last days of the season, these are the last days of the dour hand of Winter that brings the grey rain and the spiteful winds.<br /><br />Spring is trying hard now to shake Winter's grey mantle and begin colouring the days. Cleaning the drab olive grass to a bright and luscious green. Scouring the grey from the skies, polishing them to blue and decorating them with a dash of fresh cotton white.<br /><br />Hares are gathering together, the females are tetchy and will soon begin to fight off the advances of the increasingly excitable males. There are coots brawling in the grey and choppy water and I have seen great crested grebes presenting gifts of vegetation to each other and dancing on the surface together like lovestruck teenagers. Geese are pairing off and blackbird males are becoming aggressive in defence of invisible but solid boundaries. Feisty blue tits have started chasing rivals and staking their claim to the nestboxes. Out on the Fleet the teal males raise their crests, flick their tails and bow to the, as yet, indifferent females. I watched a pair of peregrines playing together on the grey winds, treating the sky as a playground, riding the turbulent air like a toy.<br /><br />Spring is here, but it awaits its moment to burst through and clear away the last dismal stutterings of a stubborn and belligerent Winter.<br /><br />It won't be long now...Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-50552715919896626442010-12-13T03:26:00.000-08:002010-12-13T03:31:37.094-08:00The painful truthI was told it was about time that I updated my profile picture to one that was taken more recently. I'm told that the tired and saggy old bloke to the right is me! I think someone's telling porkies though. I can't possibly look that bad!Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-57645261507354645432010-12-08T05:34:00.000-08:002010-12-08T08:40:12.089-08:00Three owlsAnyone who's read more than one of my posts (Is there anyone?) will probably know that little owls are one of my favourites. I can't resist them and, if I see one it almost invariably goes into the sketchbook or the camera.<br /><br />Most of the time I like to paint birds as they go about their daily routines, unaware that they are being watched. Often, if viewing through binoculars or a scope, the birds will glance in my direction and decide that I'm far enough away that I don't constitute a threat and they will return to roosting or preening, safe in the knowledge that they could fly away in plenty of time if the situation demanded it. Just occasionally though it's nice to paint that point of contact with a bird, that moment of recognition and silent communication. This guy was perched in a yew tree behind the churchyard in Hucking. I'd stopped a good distance from the tree and scanned it with my binoculars and was lucky enough to spot the light patch of the owl's feathers where the sun reflected off of them. The owl had obviously seen me long before I'd seen him and he was watching intently. No binoculars needed! He didn't move off but he kept glancing at me, just literally keeping one eye on what I was up to, and what an eye!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdGRThvaUl25RKEQARafOEKhag8qXc1sSwSxmou0QWwAT36IlEWXn51q4_uDCV8Is-ga-IbfM3Aw4a_nyBDB0PHiK_UdrSAXS2LyJ4w62BAjIUqFdVmwdWBxQopvKqPznxshQRGZjeSHO/s1600/eye-see-you.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdGRThvaUl25RKEQARafOEKhag8qXc1sSwSxmou0QWwAT36IlEWXn51q4_uDCV8Is-ga-IbfM3Aw4a_nyBDB0PHiK_UdrSAXS2LyJ4w62BAjIUqFdVmwdWBxQopvKqPznxshQRGZjeSHO/s400/eye-see-you.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548351294812707602" /></a><br /><br />This little painting is a bit of a landmark for me too because it is the first wildlife painting that I have completed in oils. I've enjoyed the paints and may use them in preference to acrylics in the future, I suppose that will depend on how well the next oil painting goes!<br /><br />Owls as a group are so gorgeous to me that I sometimes wonder if I should call myself an owl artist who paints other wildlife from time to time. They are certainly a recurring theme in my work. They are not always the easiest of creatures to see though and despite knowing where there is a long eared owl roost it took literally years before I was able to spot this one. Long eared owl had become something of what birders call a 'bogey bird' for me. When I eventually did find him though he seemed content to pose for me almost as if I'd paid him! He was either confident that his camouflage was good enough to hide him or he was just too damn tired to move as his eyes barely opened beyond much more than a slit in all the time I watched him. Useful to me because I had plenty of time to do a detailed sketch which later became a painting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsNICaNcrWH6wpz_qinYu-HbiF1OvxG4eUZBMiCRje8JnOQCJI9sU5a-8-RLvCt-r6RMyFL5xvUCCwHCBWGOuItb-FjcEg1Kq5YbC-zWM72LN0gzwvW0s9_z-g0oHdcSLtovm_lA-iccw/s1600/leosketch.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsNICaNcrWH6wpz_qinYu-HbiF1OvxG4eUZBMiCRje8JnOQCJI9sU5a-8-RLvCt-r6RMyFL5xvUCCwHCBWGOuItb-FjcEg1Kq5YbC-zWM72LN0gzwvW0s9_z-g0oHdcSLtovm_lA-iccw/s400/leosketch.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548351522370499746" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTH-QI3lQFueYSFwAmwCnuWW2sweaH_YuqKCqUMm0YQBcrORkoucFTyJSmAZSfhCv00ZUWr2VIpTNRHpCHji-jnaDPNrPHcZEwvZ0G96soV6trxNyzJNY3rDb2f3hZ5fWYqc276mUkckiW/s1600/Day-sleeper.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTH-QI3lQFueYSFwAmwCnuWW2sweaH_YuqKCqUMm0YQBcrORkoucFTyJSmAZSfhCv00ZUWr2VIpTNRHpCHji-jnaDPNrPHcZEwvZ0G96soV6trxNyzJNY3rDb2f3hZ5fWYqc276mUkckiW/s400/Day-sleeper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548351730846648834" /></a><br /><br />Of course an owl's life is not all sleeping and roosting and another type of encounter that always thrills is one with a hunting owl. Using sketches done during my hour in a ditch back in May I wanted to show a barn owl hunting in territory familiar to me where I've often seen barn owls. In the early morning the sun is low enough in the sky that it lights up the feathery seed heads of the phragmite beds around the coastal marshes of Elmley and Oare. When a barn owl floats into the scene between the viewer and the sun it sometimes appears outlined in pure, white light an effect known as contre-jour, which is a French phrase meaning literally 'against the day'. A barn owl's body plumage is light enough that it will retain some detail even in these conditions, picking up reflected light from the ground and some of the light that filters through the translucent wing feathers. It is a beautiful and fleeting effect that artists have often exploited and one that I hope I've managed to capture some of in the painting 'Low light, low flight, highlight'.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IVjPAfRSh40TJnYphbZOsj6tDj8xbJCB6AsQshyphenhyphenN_peesLUKhG-8ZNDoi4ei-sqDtcR5UZrPi69-OErHcsyJVh7hXQIkWfZuFvOOH23e_sVFLUAuRc-BzwUwpdHwqXYHdydz0QM2Wibl/s1600/lowflight-lowlight-highlight.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IVjPAfRSh40TJnYphbZOsj6tDj8xbJCB6AsQshyphenhyphenN_peesLUKhG-8ZNDoi4ei-sqDtcR5UZrPi69-OErHcsyJVh7hXQIkWfZuFvOOH23e_sVFLUAuRc-BzwUwpdHwqXYHdydz0QM2Wibl/s400/lowflight-lowlight-highlight.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548351892366566370" /></a>Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-87374979595216423852010-10-12T01:34:00.000-07:002010-10-12T01:58:23.648-07:00Merlin defiant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDBTm4bwVRmLhL2WWuGnHCwfcKotufnzQH76dEXid2eyaskLA4TdNLO7cB7_MhkvMqETQLXQbtUgBdA84gPZdjfuGgpn2BrWb7CLJvScH7fprwYlfOfAOIqTaBnL4kXVlp3P97biWQYSj/s1600/merlin-defiant-p.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcDBTm4bwVRmLhL2WWuGnHCwfcKotufnzQH76dEXid2eyaskLA4TdNLO7cB7_MhkvMqETQLXQbtUgBdA84gPZdjfuGgpn2BrWb7CLJvScH7fprwYlfOfAOIqTaBnL4kXVlp3P97biWQYSj/s400/merlin-defiant-p.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527080806825660354" /></a><br /><br />On the afternoon of September 7th 1940 the phone rang in the dispersal hut at RAF Martlesham. 257 Squadron were scrambled to intercept an incoming force of enemy aircraft. For the fourth time that day Flight Lieutenant Hugh ‘Blue blood’ Beresford raced to his waiting Hurricane and fired up its powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. He was quickly airbourne leading ‘A’ Flight. Out over the Thames Estuary 257 Squadron were vectored in on a flight of 50 German bombers and they met them head-on. As Flight Lieutenant Beresford began his attack an Me.109 fighter escort swept down from altitude to attack the defiant 257 Squadron and defend their own bombers. Flight Lieutenant Beresford frantically called a warning to his comrades below him; “Alert Squadron! Four snappers coming down!” These were probably his last words as he was hit by a cannon shell fired by one of the 109’s and his aircraft fell away from the squadron and plunged earthwards.<br /><br />On the quiet marshland of Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey the Hurricane struck the ground at Spitend. Impacting nose first the aircraft disappeared into the marshy soil leaving just a small crater and two slashes where the wings had hit and sliced into the soft ground. There was no explosion, no flames nothing but a small wisp of smoke or steam drifting up from out of the hole.<br /><br />For the next 39 years Flight Lieutenant Beresford remained in the cockpit of his Hurricane, buried 4-5 metres below the surface. Then, in August 1979 a team of volunteers recovered the aircraft and the pilot’s mortal remains along with a few remnants of his personal effects. Hugh Beresford was finally laid to rest, with full military honours, in the Brookwood military cemetery in Surrey.<br /><br />On the day he died back in 1940 Hugh Beresford was just 24 years old, the same age as my eldest son.<br /><br />Last year I was on Elmley one quiet Sunday morning in the middle of summer. There were swallows skimming low and skylarks singing high against the azure sky which was broken only by the contrails of even higher flying planes.<br /><br />As I looked at the patterns of criss-crossing vapour trails the thought struck me that I could have been transported back to the 1940's when the skies above Kent were the scene of fierce fighting as the RAF fought the threat of Nazi invasion and the might of Hitler's Luftwaffe. Even as these battles raged, and brave young men of both sides lost their lives, the birds on the marshes of Sheppey continued, just as they have always done, oblivious to the struggles of men.<br /><br />In early September this year I was lucky enough to catch up with a merlin on Elmley and the thought of the summer of 1940 returned to me and this painting was conceived. The Rolls Royce Merlin engine powered both the Spitfire and the Hurricane so I thought it would be an appropriate bird to place in the context of the Battle of Britain. The young male sits on a pile of boulders which are not naturally occuring in Kent. They have been brought in to be used in the coastal defences, so again I thought they were appropriate. I have used a little artistic license and the fighter planes depicted are Spitfires not Hurricanes simply because the shape of the Spitfire is more easily recognisable.Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-52322378547939216402010-07-21T08:06:00.000-07:002010-07-21T08:12:49.118-07:00CLA Game FairI will be attending the CLA Game Fair at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire this weekend, Friday 23rd-Sunday 25th July. I'll be in the 'Birds, birds, birds' Stand P1213, where some of my work will be on show. If you're at the fair please do come and have a chat, it would be nice to meet anyone who reads this little blog of mine.<br /><br />Gotta go pack!Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437000408400473774.post-58880164107634584692010-07-10T14:19:00.000-07:002010-07-11T14:09:13.287-07:00Fairy whispers and chasing dragonsThe weatherman had promised cloud after a week of pure blue skies and soaring temperatures. But he was wrong. The sky was clear and the air had the delicious taste of a morning's clarity before it thickens to hang heavy with the sun's heat.<br /><br />Always at this time of year I hope to see Hobbies on my travels. Those dashing little falcons like miniature peregrines with every edge honed to sharpness. So my first port of call was the old schoolhouse to scan the familiar territory of the resident pair. However there was no sign of them, either on their favourite perches or in the empty sky. I stayed for over an hour and, as the sun worked her magic, the temperature began to rise and the air began to hum and buzz with the busyness of insects. The horizon became a shimmering, ephemeral thing and looking for distant Hobbies through the heat haze was like trying to see through a pane of glass running with the heavyest of heavy rain. The air thickened, as I'd known it would, and took on the heat of those near forgotten dream Summers of my childhood.<br /><br />As I went down the track that leads back down to the farmhouse the bushes to the sides were moving. Each twig and leaf it seemed was a perch for a smiling, bejewelled, yellow dragon and my passing put them to the air. Their glasslike wings whirred and clattered, maneuvering them to perceived safety on a branch perhaps a foot or so away from their first position. Benign to us but snatching death to their small insect prey, these grinning beauties are superb fliers, twisting, turning, banking and hovering with perfect precision. But even such mastery cannot always save them. The Hobbies that fly here hunt these hunters, grabbing them in swift talons and deftly removing their leaded glass wings before offering them up to the sharp and decisive beak to be devoured in flight with barely an interruption. The yellow dragons (Common Darters) are the most numerous dragonflies on the reserve but there are others there too. Azure damselflies with their needle thin bodies glowing in blue as bright as Chinese turquoise, and delicate, irridescent, green/blue Banded Demoiselles with their distinctive black wingspots always seeking the bottle green and spotless females. And the larger Black-Tailed skimmer, dusky blue and impressive but they are all dwarfed by the massive Migrant Hawker.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDgACCdAUr0DD0IwZch1aMjIxFWXfXCQS93gJMzrP-9Jyp1-2rLHWTLV6Dj5DvWd-dg8_dBPShq38076tcpKo79tApC8PqkwNdwc1uXtnq1ZG_dcFIaMtlH-9nxQDmR-Ig4uwkElQTJ3u/s1600/comdart.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDgACCdAUr0DD0IwZch1aMjIxFWXfXCQS93gJMzrP-9Jyp1-2rLHWTLV6Dj5DvWd-dg8_dBPShq38076tcpKo79tApC8PqkwNdwc1uXtnq1ZG_dcFIaMtlH-9nxQDmR-Ig4uwkElQTJ3u/s400/comdart.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492412078041151586" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Common Darter</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaAJAZF9tV8Gu_BfooJ_puBaW2HdP7mCh_JDkpEXOcnWY7h5X3_908fY_BZYcJfj0qlAYuyr4J9HptnYTdM89i4V9_rbfOf3cQnLHum6veSzpB8K3K13R0vW5TVcPeU0UHpwylL0A44u9/s1600/azure.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 321px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaAJAZF9tV8Gu_BfooJ_puBaW2HdP7mCh_JDkpEXOcnWY7h5X3_908fY_BZYcJfj0qlAYuyr4J9HptnYTdM89i4V9_rbfOf3cQnLHum6veSzpB8K3K13R0vW5TVcPeU0UHpwylL0A44u9/s400/azure.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492619320786613090" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Azure Damselfly</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbou-FUeNM_wwgCvSG5p1ZBdRzganWSaqLliffCEpQIqLkWrJvIn1-ZOSKRB48_IiM6RYdzpxOyC5EU94qM7bzE87B_4QQsx29CsKcMKrom6lOLxvpH1UXMF6EsnXoFBK1It8N8G2QulCe/s1600/bandedem.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbou-FUeNM_wwgCvSG5p1ZBdRzganWSaqLliffCEpQIqLkWrJvIn1-ZOSKRB48_IiM6RYdzpxOyC5EU94qM7bzE87B_4QQsx29CsKcMKrom6lOLxvpH1UXMF6EsnXoFBK1It8N8G2QulCe/s400/bandedem.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492669281260466626" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Banded Demoiselle</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tAceluVM25LCf13MAv22Q2QdmOmYy7AVNpXuZFoR1Ai1Q_mm1nf7p_YpgW-MerjDsrejVsv-SjvRQymPnw41vq180oD8hVl4OlsrBzaagQHBFGyhMS0Dg46kP6IR4uzEDU2B919ijaDA/s1600/btailed.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tAceluVM25LCf13MAv22Q2QdmOmYy7AVNpXuZFoR1Ai1Q_mm1nf7p_YpgW-MerjDsrejVsv-SjvRQymPnw41vq180oD8hVl4OlsrBzaagQHBFGyhMS0Dg46kP6IR4uzEDU2B919ijaDA/s400/btailed.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492619328471403650" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Black-Tailed Skimmer</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSbLsXnJO8GSRMNSViPRB76QoWcol8XOpxEhEYkOZAPB1v2st9cipG93Oms2FtM56LT3gya1KyHxEHpsuWsLfPtdZVpn7lkpga8bURtuDBapUiGxt7DyXejWbzKVhSjeGjM1on3s9_A_U/s1600/migrant.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSbLsXnJO8GSRMNSViPRB76QoWcol8XOpxEhEYkOZAPB1v2st9cipG93Oms2FtM56LT3gya1KyHxEHpsuWsLfPtdZVpn7lkpga8bURtuDBapUiGxt7DyXejWbzKVhSjeGjM1on3s9_A_U/s400/migrant.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492619331188326274" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Migrant Hawker</span><br /><br />The heat brought other creatures to the brambles, nettles and thistles; A huge hatch of meadow brown butterflies in even greater profusion than the dragonflies. Understated, velvet-winged and beautiful they adorned the undergrowth in their thousands. As I walked by they lifted and fluttered all around me and I was surrounded by a cloud of Summer with wings as soft as the whispers of fairy secrets. Moving on, the cloud of butterflies seemed to move along with me as some settled and others took their places in the dance. There is only one way to describe encounters like this; Pure Magic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpmB4g1rkIe3fMxM1Vw9VIO3g1TAaJAdbgnRkzq7gcq4OPnDXK07xBUeT5EM3L7u3ID1HMdfvVvl8LpJZYyeYm40VOaoZiYjxl8i5cai3fuXwcuWxGHKBJegKSLcJ83ThFeb_9Q7uLuwp/s1600/med-browns1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpmB4g1rkIe3fMxM1Vw9VIO3g1TAaJAdbgnRkzq7gcq4OPnDXK07xBUeT5EM3L7u3ID1HMdfvVvl8LpJZYyeYm40VOaoZiYjxl8i5cai3fuXwcuWxGHKBJegKSLcJ83ThFeb_9Q7uLuwp/s400/med-browns1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492619340797983602" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Meadow Browns</span><br /><br />Enchanted by the meadow browns and heady with the Summer I sought out other butterflies and was rewarded with a glorious Small Tortoiseshell basking in the sun. His bright colours shone like sweets in a glass jar against the grey stone gravel of the path. A Large White was busy among the brambles and nettles by the path. As she fluttered from one bramble to another it was almost as if one of the pure white blooms of the bramble itself had taken to flight. And finally atop a giant thistle, a comma, ragged edged wings radiant in burnished copper, he drank nectar with his elegantly caligraphic tongue.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_2ld01PjdKr5-Xd0xDyQm0jD1Ka5zyVi7BfL_WqYcpyCOBSbsrZv1caQJk3C6kYDm3KQMFmeZ2b2CN61rFjObTVNcdKGAlqLgiI7pZmt-7Ad3pS_DUsx8IPln4b7Jz8whkSY-crLFTAc/s1600/ttseshel.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_2ld01PjdKr5-Xd0xDyQm0jD1Ka5zyVi7BfL_WqYcpyCOBSbsrZv1caQJk3C6kYDm3KQMFmeZ2b2CN61rFjObTVNcdKGAlqLgiI7pZmt-7Ad3pS_DUsx8IPln4b7Jz8whkSY-crLFTAc/s400/ttseshel.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492621051301753026" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Small Tortoiseshell</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1u_wOdBvKOhI0I3lP5SHcpeJIBI5C7gWBbQs1q_yK0Oznh1cbZQoePlzWpfPvEdp-FJw7ulsM1BLBWfunQTnRJGbvWFVOjtx3KzAIExKAphBLCqlSS5TuswYq85Zd4OGjWXxn1A-Mi2j/s1600/white.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1u_wOdBvKOhI0I3lP5SHcpeJIBI5C7gWBbQs1q_yK0Oznh1cbZQoePlzWpfPvEdp-FJw7ulsM1BLBWfunQTnRJGbvWFVOjtx3KzAIExKAphBLCqlSS5TuswYq85Zd4OGjWXxn1A-Mi2j/s400/white.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492621065079836434" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Large White</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvUnoQz06XVqKP81d_AroIzueRHwn4C_uFiOYfa8qGLGu6fCn4bdOzSFXYfYqY3rJ2YJqKFvfkvqyd_8LBTD9uINiQ-Do1eSK_3-YM-vrWY9tpZsZh2E8k8weJzCifl9VuOPo80xxF-Qt/s1600/comma2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvUnoQz06XVqKP81d_AroIzueRHwn4C_uFiOYfa8qGLGu6fCn4bdOzSFXYfYqY3rJ2YJqKFvfkvqyd_8LBTD9uINiQ-Do1eSK_3-YM-vrWY9tpZsZh2E8k8weJzCifl9VuOPo80xxF-Qt/s400/comma2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492621066028369570" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Comma</span><br /><br />The Hobbies never did show, but it didn't matter because, like the butterflies, I had tasted the sweet nectar of Summer and, anyway, I knew that they were out there somewhere in the vast open sky...Chasing dragons.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEp4xtB5TmAMPjCQD7Ijh65SpFSpeq2HZ6Ax9MeOPuje9PrWU_K753WAO4MyJKRpWhx-om_-g6QSjF1pUG4HMVnAfCKw_pZvS9SgoOEXrMEn9zQHMA4-FEzU9c8Em0wMEomEGLnWQlERu7/s1600/high-summer-hobby.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEp4xtB5TmAMPjCQD7Ijh65SpFSpeq2HZ6Ax9MeOPuje9PrWU_K753WAO4MyJKRpWhx-om_-g6QSjF1pUG4HMVnAfCKw_pZvS9SgoOEXrMEn9zQHMA4-FEzU9c8Em0wMEomEGLnWQlERu7/s400/high-summer-hobby.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492622348837339634" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">High Summer Hobby</span>Mike Woodcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06660839577770854965noreply@blogger.com5