Blackpoll

 

Watercolor.  This is the first of a planned series of watercolors based on photos I took of birds in my backyard.  I have a dozen types of warblers that I plan to paint first, moving on to woodpeckers, flycatcher, hawks, wrens, etc.  The warblers passed through on spring migration about 3 years back.  The flight path moves around with weather and we got lucky one year and it lasted for several weeks.  I took a lot of pictures, and some are pretty decent but a lot aren't because they're very difficult to shoot. They're small, always moving, and hunting for insects invariably in the shadows of trees.  What's fascinating about them is each type has its own distinct behavior.  The redstart flares its colorful tail.  The ovenbird unpretentiously walks (not hops) around the forest ground.  The black and white creeps around on the bark of trees.    

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