Birds of the Oakland Hills

Western Bluebird
6"x6" watercolor, watercolor pencil, gouache & beeswax

Three more Birds with Attitude: Western Bluebird, American Kestrel and a Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk.

Smaller than a robin, the brilliantly colored Western Bluebird is a Navajo symbol of sunrise and renewal. Ornithologists have yet to determine bluebird seasonal migration routes. Bluebirds reappear at Sibley Volcanic Preserve in the spring.

The American Kestrel uses strong winds and updrafts at Sibley to his advantage, hovering above an open field on rapidly beating wings. When prey--a lizard, rodent or small bird--is spotted, the Kestrel rapidly tucks wings and streaks downward, head first. Most prey are caught on the ground although insects and birds are sometimes taken in flight.

It is not uncommon for Red-tailed Hawks to exhibit leucism, which results in a loss of feather pigmentation. I've seen plenty of Red-tailed Hawks at Sibley but have yet to see a leucistic one. . . here's hoping.

American Kestrel
6"x6" watercolor, watercolor pencil, gouache & beeswax

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Leucistic Red-tailed Hawk
6"x6" watercolor, watercolor pencil, gouache & beeswax

Autumn in the Sierras

Grey-green sagebrush and its spicy aroma. 

Bright yellow aspen leaves shimmering against a deep blue sky. 

Ghostly bare trees among deep green pines. 

Creative catalyst.

Come say Hi and see my new Autumn in the Sierras paintings. Opening reception at Topaz Salon this Sunday, 22^nd from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.  

Topaz Salon, 1995 El Dorado Avenue, Berkeley next to the Solano Tunnel on the Hopkins Street side.

How sweet it is . . .

My first solo show, now through October at Fournee Bakery, 2912 Domingo Avenue in Berkeley across the street from the Claremont Hotel tennis courts.

These watercolor and beeswax paintings illustrate the many enjoyable hours I've spent hiking, bird watching, photographing and painting at Tilden Park and Sibley Volcanic Preserve.  

When you go, treat yourself to Fournee Bakery's delectable goodies. Tres bien! 

Open Space Series

Tilden Park one  

Claremont Canyon

Sibley Volcanic Preserve

Tilden Park two

Above the Steam Trains, Tilden Park

A few of my favorite things: hiking, bird-watching, painting . . . and painting the areas where I hike.

Some of my recent paintings:  6-inch square in watercolor and beeswax. Mmmmm, they smell ever so slightly of honey.

Channeling my inner Wayne Thiebaud

Every Day in May painting for the prompt 'Cupcake'

Wayne Thiebaud is so synonymous with the depiction of baked goods that it’s impossible to paint a cupcake without unconsciously painting the thing as Thiebaud might have. 

Thiebaud taught at UC Davis for decades. How wonderful would it have been to take a class from this icon? Here’s a great short film about a sweet great artist:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI_QJ5D9Qm8

Hello, it's me . . .

My good friend Karen reminded me that I've not blogged here in way too long.  That's because I've been participating in the Every Day in May blog on Facebook.

We were given a new drawing prompt every day in May. These were mundane objects that could easily be found and drawn at home.

We posted our daily drawings on the Every Day in May Facebook page. So fun to see how people from all over the world interpreted the same prompt.  My objective in doing this exercise? To incorporate a daily creativity habit. I think it's working . . . so far.

Here's a few of my favorites from my Every Day in May posts. The prompt is written on each drawing. Funny, how many of my drawings are about food!

Northern Spotted Owls

I attended Dave Quady's Audubon Owl ID field trip this past weekend and observed a pair of Northern Spotted Owls! As the sun set, we studied a male and a female owl at close range through scopes and binoculars for nearly an hour. I sat down on the trail and made these small paintings, which I overworked later at home. 

Perched on a bare redwood branch nearly at eye level, the male Spotted Owl slowly swiveled his head, watching us as we observed him. A pattern of concentric dark and white feathers gave his dark eyes a deep-set appearance.  He settled on his perch, fluffed up his feathers and urped up a bolus that dropped to the forest floor.

The male Spotted made a few calls, described by Dave as "a rising series of barks followed by one or two 'whoo' notes," and began vocalizing more regularly at sunset. In response, the female Owl uttered a "single rising whistle plus short, quieter whistles." The male flew to the female and they mated (if you blinked, you missed it). The male then flew silently away and out of sight, and I fought the urge to stand and applaud.

Unfortunately, a few shutter-snapping marauders have done some pretty unethical things in the pursuit of a good Spotted Owl photograph. Because of these knuckleheads, we're sworn to secrecy about the location of this rare sighting.

Finally, here's a Spotted Owl that I painted last year in the studio.  Much more exciting to paint from live birds on location (and more challenging)!

California Raptor Class field trip

Learning a lot and having a blast hanging out with other raptor enthusiasts in the Audubon Society's California Raptors Class led by Eddie Bartley of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory.

On Sunday's field trip to Rush Ranch and Jepson Prairie near Rio Vista, spotting scopes on tripods gave me a great opportunity to sketch from live birds. The most exciting moment was discovering a Great-horned Owl snoozing (with one eye open) above our picnic table lunch at Rush Ranch. He sat there for hours.

Later in the day I saw my first Ferruginous Hawk sitting on the ground in the sunshine and two Burrowing Owls hanging out near, and in, their ground burrow. I sketched in waterproof ink onsite and added watercolor later at home at the kitchen table.

Raptorama at Coastside Land Trust, Half Moon Bay

http://www.coastsidelandtrust.org/raptorama

Coastside Land Trust's annual Raptorama is coming up, the weekend of November 7 through 9. Raptor enthusiasts, experts and local organizations will be leading walks, workshops and talks.
This coincides with the California Raptor Show at the Coastside Land Trust gallery from November 7 through February 13. My American Kestrel and Elf Owl paintings will be in the show. The artists' reception is on Friday, November 7th from 5-8:00 p.m.

What a great weekend to migrate to Half Moon Bay!

America's littlest Falcon

The American Kestrel uses strong winds and updrafts at Sibley Volcanic Preserve to his advantage, hovering above an open field on rapidly beating wings. When prey -- a lizard, rodent or small bird -- is spotted, the Kestrel rapidly tucks wings and streaks downward, head first. Most prey are caught on the ground, although insects and birds are sometimes taken in flight.

Last Friday, Karen and I made our first sighting of Sibley's resident Golden Eagle, hovering in the wind in the Kestrel's airspace. Courageous Kestrel, much smaller than the Eagle, flew repeated sorties from above, forcing the Eagle to hunt elsewhere.

The contenders:
American Kestrel: 8 - 12" body length
20 - 24 inch wingspan
3 - 6 ounces in weight

Golden Eagle: 27 - 33" body length
5 to 7 foot wingspan
6 to 13.5 pounds in weight

A visit to Cal State East Bay's taxidermy collection

Aware of my obsession with all things avian, a good friend allowed me access to Cal State East Bay's taxidermy collection. Many of their songbird specimens are ravaged by time and infestation, but there are a few intact, sketchable specimens like this seagull, in an especially life-like posture.

Then there's the Common Raven, never more, in a much less animated pose.  

David Sedaris, humorist, author and frequent contributor to PRI's This American Life and The New Yorker magazine relates his experience buying a Valentine's Day gift at a London taxidermy shop -- my kinda guy. (see link below)

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/22/understanding-owls?currentPage=all

Ravenous 4

Ravens belong to the Corvid family, which also includes crows, jays and magpies. Corvids have high cognitive ability, and both Crows and Ravens can be taught to talk and can even recognize faces.

Ravens are acrobatic fliers, rolling and somersaulting in aerial stunts like birds of prey. Young birds play games with sticks, repeatedly dropping, and then diving and retrieving them in mid-air. One bird was seen flying upside down for a half-mile.

Inquisitiveness and intelligence earn Ravens a prankster reputation. They've been known to create power outages on power lines, foul satellite dishes, peel radar-absorbant material from a California Weapons Center, peck holes in airplane wings, invade camp tents and steal golf balls.

Ravens appear in the mythology of ancient and indigenous peoples and cultures throughout the world. The oldest known Common Raven lived 17 years.

Thanks to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cool Facts.

Birds with Attitude: Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is a magnificent bird of prey with a 6 foot wingspan. They mate for life, reuse the same large nest year after year and may live to 32 years.

The East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area has one of the world's largest nesting populations of Golden Eagles. Yet development continues to challenge eagle habitat, and wind farms at Altamont Pass continue to kill eagles and other raptors at an alarming rate.

Lead ammunition is also a significant factor in Golden Eagle mortality when the birds eat carcasses and prey contaminated by lead bullet fragments. AB711, a lead ammo ban in California (thank you, Governor Brown!) will take effect in 2019, providing plenty of time for hunters to switch to other forms of ammunition.

See a Golden Eagle in slow-motion flight:
http://youtu.be/aM0JMoGABgk

Endangered Beauty . . . Elf Owl

The world's smallest owl, the Elf Owl is the size of a sparrow with a 9-inch wingspan. Found in both riparian and arid habitats of Southwestern U.S. and Central Mexico, Elf Owls inhabit tree cavities, abandoned woodpecker holes and saguaro cactus. Identified by its poodle-like yapping song, Elf Owls feed on invertebrates such as moths, crickets and scorpions. When threatened, Elf Owls play dead until danger has passed. Elf Owls live three to six years.

See nesting Arizonan Elf Owl and two owlets:
http://youtu.be/FHcXI7abj8o

Endangered Beauty . . . Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak breeds in the Eastern United States among conifers and deciduous trees. They occasionally visit California and other Western states and migrate to Central and South America.

Beneficial to farmers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks consume many destructive insects and are known as potato-bug birds in Colorado.

Unfortunately, Eastern populations are declining. Their song sounds like an American Robin in an especially good mood:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NixrHvecZ8c

Taxidermy Bear @ Wildcare, San Rafael

Immature Raven

Sketching with John Muir Laws can be inspiring! Here, therefore, the raven. Ravens can be distinguished from crows by their heavier, more curved bills. Eye color is light blue in hatchlings, grey in fledglings. Feathers of immature ravens have a duller, dark brown coloring.

Lakeside Garden Center

The sound of the waterfall is a tranquil accompaniment to sketch-making.