Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Common Raven

As mentioned in the previous post on the American Crow, I saw distant circling large black birds early in the year - but they were too far off for me to properly identify. Maybe someone who KNOWS THINGS could have... but not me. I finally identified both an American Crow and a Common Raven on the same day... through I forget exactly which day... it was in the first week or two of the year. I've seen a few more since then. 

I am getting a bit behind. 

This is the first bird i've drawn/painted for this project in flight. Mostly because all the ones I've seen so far this year have been in flight. Which is odd, because I feel like the majority of the Ravens I've seen in the past were always perched on something gronking away at anyone that would  care to listen....?

Raven in the Birbs of Saskatechtoon Sketchbook. I couldn't think of anything else to write in it... maybe I'll add something later.,,,? 

Raven in Flight - 20cmx20xm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

For once I'm actually happier with the one in the book! I accidentally blobbed a bit of coloured ink in a spot where coloure was not meant to go... thoguht I'd lean into it and splatter some extra on there - for fun - I'm not sure it helped... 

Here are some pictures of a few of the Ravens I've seen. 

Raven and Crown on the ice under the Grand Trunk Bridge. Raven is taking off. 

Raven in a tree

Same raven taking off from the tree. 

Raven that I kind of tried to base my drawings on. 

Raven being chased off my Magpie.

That's it for now. Next on the list is a Merlin! 

Last Friday was a crazy spotting day, I spied a Downy Woodpecker and a White-Breasted Nuthatch - both in our yard (Amanda identified the Nuthatch... I wouldn't have known what it was!)! Then Hairy Woodpecker later in the day when we went to campus to swap computer parts. 

Oh I also saw another Raven on Friday morning - while walking to an appointment with Amanda on 20th Street. it swooped past before I could get my camera out though. Amanda didn't believe it was a Raven - until a few minutes later when we heard it GRONKing from a side street. I told her I knew because of the tail feathers (and that it's BIGGER than a crow! But Amanda has troubles with spacial awareness and estimating size...). When we got home I drew a quick sketch to show her the difference. Later in the day when we were making our way to campus ANOTHER Raven swooped very low right over top of us, going the other way down the trail! Amanda stopped and said "Ah, I see what you mean! THAT was a Raven!" 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - American Crow

Despite William Kurlek writing in both Prairie Boy's Summer and Prairie Boy's Winter about crows gathering and leaving being the harbinger of winter and their return being the first true sign of spring for him, a few Crows (and Ravens!) overwinter here in Saskatoon. 

For the past few years, I've sees Ravens a bit more regularly than crows in the winters. So far this year, however, it's been mostly Crows. 

Early in the month, on a few occasions, I saw distant large black birds circling in the sky - but far too distant to identify. It wasn't until mid month that I spotted identifiable Crows and Ravens - both on the same day! 

American Crow in the Birbs of Saskatchetoon Sketchbook. 

Crow on a Power Pole

20cmx20xm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

Here are a few process and reference pics...

There's the first crow I spotted his year. 

Well First crow that I was definitely able to identify. 

Can you see it?

There it is! 

Spotted this one - a bit closer - a week later...?

Had a brief discussion with a Magpie that flew up. 

Decided it didn't need that kine of negativity in it's life and fucked off. 

or... something like that. 

Fun part of winter: without all the leaves on the trees - you can see crows nests all over the place. They are so huge they are visible from some distance! 

Painting the Crows - sketchbook vs. separate page. I think this is where I got to in the morning before I had to run out and do some errands. 

Shortly after I got back from doing errands, Keiran got home from school and we decided to clear off the kitchen table and have a family art night... well... half-family....? 

Since I was working on "Birbs", they decided to do something "Birb-Adjacent" 

This is what they came up with. 

That's all for now. 

Raven is next. Maybe tomorrow...? 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Rock Dove

 I always just called these pigeons....

As I said from the outset, though, this project was about actually learning some things about all these wonderful birds all around me. I was a little confused when I couldn't find PIGEON in my Birds of Saskatchewan book!? I mean, they're fucking EVERYWHERE!? Do they not count because they're an introduced species!? Sparrows are in the book! Starlings are in the book!

And then I found them. Rock Doves. Apparently PIGEONS are a domesticated animal. ROCK DOVES are a "feral" pigeon. 

I will correct EVERYONE now! 

(no I won't!) 

(Okay, I did correct Amanda when walked by and said "are you painting a pigeon?")

(She was unimpressed)

Rock Dove in my Birbs of Saskatchetoon Sketchbook. 

Rock Dove

20cmx20xm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

It was a week into January when I realized "how have I not spotted one!?" Does familiarity truly breed such contempt that I don't even notice stuff right before my very eyes. When I did go out LOOKING for them, I did find them in their usual spaces - under the bridges - but there are fewer of them than there has been in the past - partly because of anti-bird nets and spikes that have been installed in some parts of some of the bridges....

Here are some of the pics I took of Rock Doves (feral pigeons!) around Saskatoon. 

Since it's harder for them to hang out UNDER the Senator Buckwold/Idlywyld Freeway Beidge, they just cling to the side. 

Sometimes they fly around, for no apparent reason. Maybe just to stretch the wings...? 

Other times they fly down to the ice for some water. 

Same place. Different time of day. 

Some of the Anit-Birb wire/nets untder the bridge - denying previous favoured roosting spots. 

Other side of the Senator Buckwold Bridge. 

More on the Circle Drive Bridge.

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Mallard

Like the Common Goldeneye, Mallards are pretty common ducks in Saskatchewan and a few will also overwinter along the river - though not as many as the Common Goldeneye - and I haven't seen very many Mallards this winter. So I was a bit surprised when I spotted a handful the first week of January along the river while heading towards the Gordie Howe Bridge on the Meewasin Trail! 

Can you make them out? They're Mallards. You'll... just have to trust me....

How about this one? Any better? 

There were about a half dozen of them hiding behind the riverside brush. 

Luckily I had a BUNCH of pics I took last summer I could reference!

(and... y'know... books...)

(and... the internet...) 

I do try to keep compositions largely based on my own photos and observations... but I do not have a professional wildlife photographers camera and sometimes things are blurry AF and I'm like "WTF am I even LOOKING at!?" and I'll look at another picture and things will make more sense... 

It's hard in the winter - especially on cold days, like the day I spotted these, where you don't really want to stand around and take piles of pictures or sketches or notes...  and everything is overcast and grey...

Mallard's in the Book

I also did a pair of 20cmx20xm (8'x8") paintings simultaneously... it helps with the waiting for washes and colours to dry. 

(I still rush and wreck things, though... Maybe I need to have a DOZEN of each on the go!?) 

Pair of Mallards 

20cmx20xm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

A Fabulous Pair of Mallard Dudes

20cmx20xm (8'x8"), Ink on Watercolour Paper 

A few of those other pics I took last year... 

I made them small for the internet and to not clog up my blogger albums.

some, with the original FULL SIZE version I was able to zoom in on details and they were very helpful. 

Next: ROCK DOVES! 

Birbs of Saskatchetoon - Common Goldeneye

 It was never my intent to paint picture perfect illustrations of birds - like you might see in a birding manual. I wanted to make the identifiable, but really wanted to keep it fun and lively and maybe a bit expressionistic - trying to capture the gesture of the bird in the situation in which I first spotted it...? 

I even thought I might add speech bubbles containing whatever irreverent things I imagine birds might be thinking or saying to each other... I still might... 

I've not been totally happy with the first few that went into the book - which actually left me feeling like a dummy for not starting in DECEMBER and PRACTICING drawing birds for a month before starting in. I'll have to learn to live with it. Perhaps it will, in addition to keeping a record of the birds I saw this year, show a progression or ability and techniques experimented with, incorporated and... maybe not "mastered"... but at least got "good enough" with...? 

These two are the first I've really felt like "yeah, that's kind of almost what I was shooting for..."

Common Goldeneyes pass through the souther parts of the province in the spring and fall - heading to breeding ground in the north for the summer. But there are a fair few that overwinter here in town. They are definitely the most common water fowl I've seen all winter - often appearing in groups of three or four or five. Often diving under the water for a minute before reappearing a little further downstream. 

I see them just about every day that I go out and I saw the first ones of the year on the 3rd or 4th - the first day I headed out of the house and travelled along the river. 

Two Common Goldeneyes (male and female) in the Birbs of Saskatchetoon sketchbook. 

Extra one I did for funsies while working on the one in the book 

Just a few of the "reference" photos I took in the last week or so... 

I can't tell you how many times THIS happened - lining up to take a shot and BLOOP under they went. It was common enough that I was considering doing disturbed water as the pictures for the Goldeneye, but then decided against it... 

Here are a few of the pictures I managed to take BEFORE they dove - or just as they came back up (if I was feeling patient - and WARM - enough!) 

Getting a bit behind here. I think the next bird I saw was a Mallard - but that was almost two weeks ago! I guess I better get on it! 

I'm almost afraid to go out lest I see another new bird and get further behind!