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Winter Estuary March 2023
My local estuaries are favourite sketching destinations in the winter. They are a reliable source of subject matter — always birds around; always something going on; yet never predictable. Some days the estuary may be undisturbed and lots of birds will be present. Other days there may be disturbance, and birds scattered or distant. But changing moods of light and weather are usually assured and the rise and fall of the tide guaranteed. Here is a selection of sketches from the last few months, with no particular theme.
Some days there may be large flocks of Golden Plover. Often they are distant, but occasionally a flock will settle quite close. I like the variety of poses and actions in these flocks: at any one time birds will be preening, sleeping, standing or walking around, perhaps feeding, all accompanied by a chorus of soft piping calls. But they are always alert and restless. At any moment the soft piping may fall silent, then Whoosh! They are away.
Dunlin are a favourite of mine. Lovely dumpy forms when sleeping, but such busy little birds at other times, scurrying around the mud feeding. The sketch below was inspired by the pattern of deep shadow falling across the mud.
You never quite know what you might see. This winter, the tide brought in a couple of traffic cones. I'd rather they stayed where they belong, but couldn't resist painting the incongruous sight of the luminous traffic cone surrounded by feeding Dunlin.
Even when other birds are absent or distant, there always seems to be a few Redshank feeding along the water's edge. This one was working it's way past some sleeping Teal.
On the rising tide, they often gather in small groups to rest. Their bright orange legs stand out brightly against the mud and they seem adept at arranging themselves into pleasing compositions.
Gulls are also reliable subjects. I was attracted here by the contrast of the strong bulky form of the Great Black-backed Gull with the smaller, more delicate Black-Headed Gulls. I think I've rather exaggerated the size difference though! The light was also very attractive with the very dark water behind and strong shadows on the birds.
It is rare that I see Snipe very close at my local estuaries, but on one occasion this year, two did settle nearby and started preening and sunning themselves. I find their spread tails fascinating, with beautiful colours and pattern. The sketches below, made for information purposes, are a bit wishy-washy and don't really do them justice.
Finally, here is a sketch of Cormorants resting and preening on a mud bank. This was a day late in the season when most of the other birds seemed to have disappeared. The Cormorants are coming into breeding plumage.
A few more pencil sketches
I do a lot of drawing in pencil. It is a good way of getting to know birds or explore composition. Here are three examples. First up a Lapwing with a couple of dunlin. This was a composition sketch and I liked it simply as a drawing and resisted the temptation to slap on some watercolour.
The second is a group of Black-Tailed Godwits. I may actually have been focusing on just one or two birds... I can't remember. But the page filled up with drawings of various poses, and together they make a composition, almost by accident.
Finally, some Oystercatchers. This was the same process, focusing on just one or two birds, trying to capture the different poses and actions of feeding birds.
