Category Archives: Bird Art

Drawing – Spruce Grouse

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Spruce Grouse - Drawing by Terry Sohl

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This is one I started drawing on the evening of the election.  Always a good thing to do to take my mind off things, although I admit I wasn’t very successful doing it that night.  I did get started that night, but especially once it was obvious how well things were going in the election, I backed off the drawing and sat glued to the TV.

I ended up spending a number of evenings this week on this.  It’s always so much easier to do a bird without intricate plumage patterns.  The colors may not be brilliant for a Spruce Grouse, but the feather pattern is awfully complex.  I spent more time on this one than any other drawing I’ve done.  As per usual for me…I end up happy with the bird itself, and then never know what to do to finish it off.  I initially thought of putting this guy on the  bough of a spruce tree and doing a very detailed background and habitat, but I just don’t have the energy to put in the same detail in the background as I do in the bird.

I’ve seen these a few times before, in far northern Minnesota, northern Michigan, and in Maine, but have never gotten a photo.

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Drawing – Red-shouldered Hawk

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Red-shouldered Hawk - Drawing by Terry Sohl

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What better time to than 2 days before the election to forget the “Folly” part for a bit, and go back to the feathers?  This is one I’ve actually been working on for a while, on a bit larger canvas.  It’s a Red-Shouldered Hawk, a species you can occasionally find in South Dakota, but not one I’ve been able to ever get good looks at, or get a photo of.

My wife bought me a very nice new set of drawing pencils for my birthday, and this is the first drawing I’ve tried with them. They’re quite a bit different! Better though, and I think I’ll like them better than my older, cheaper ones.  Their characteristics are different though.  I won’t tell you what part of the drawing, but there’s one area I’m not too thrilled with, and a lot of it was trying to do something with the new pencils.

Live and learn.  Now I think I have a plan of attack for my next one, based on what I learned with this one.

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Drawing – Piping Plover

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment
Piping Plover - Drawing by Terry Sohl

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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve drawn anything, so I set some time aside this afternoon to draw.  I guess this is a “nemesis” bird for me, one I haven’t seen, even though they’re found in South Dakota.  However, Piping Plovers are considered endangered in many states, and are listed as “threatened” in the U.S. as a whole.  Piping Plovers nest in sandy areas, and in the interior of the U.S., such as in South Dakota, they typically nest on sand bars in rivers.

The only place you can (reliably) see them in South Dakota is along the Missouri River and major tributaries, where large sandbars are available for nesting.  It’s a minimum of a 2 1/2 hour drive to get to the Missouri from where we live, and I just haven’t taken the time yet to do a trip devoted to finding these guys.  Given that I also haven’t seen a Least Tern before, another threatened species found in similar habitat, it’s about time I do so!  Maybe next summer.

But in the meantime, a drawing.  Can’t say as I’ve tried to draw sand before!  Took some experimenting before coming up with something that at least could be interpreted as sand, if you squint your eyes and use your imagination. ;-)

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Drawing – Nelson’s Sparrow

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment
Nelson's Sparrow - Drawing by Terry Sohl

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Every birder has “nemesis” birds, birds that you think you should have seen before, but for some reason, have never been able to find.  I’m not sure I’d quite put this in the “nemesis” category, but the Nelson’s Sparrow is kind of an interesting one for me and a friend at work.  They are only migrants in our part of South Dakota, and every fall, people report seeing them.  However, despite both of us going out on multiple occasions to places where people said they’ve been sighted, we’ve never had any luck.
These guys are very similar in appearance to the Le Conte’s Sparrow, a bird that IS almost a mythical bird for some birders.  However, I’ve seen, and photographed, a gazillion or so Le Conte’s Sparrows as they move through here in the fall.  Nelson’s Sparrows are found in somewhat similar habitat, but despite seeing all the Le Conte’s, I’ve never ID’d or photographed a Nelson’s.
Hence…a drawing.

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Drawing – Green-breasted Mango

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Green-breasted Mango by Terry Sohl

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Getting back to reality tomorrow, going back to work after being at home the last couple of days with shingles.  Still hurts, but getting better, and 2 days of sick leave is 2 days more than I think I used over the last year or two.  Time to get back in the swing of things again.

So, to get my butt off the couch and get used to moving around again (it HURTS when I move!!), I got up and drew tonight.  This is a male “Green-breasted Mango”, a really beautiful tropical hummingbird.  They’re just visitors to the U.S., as their normal range is in Mexico and Central America. Curiously though, there have been some sightings FAR from their normal range, including one up in Wisconsin!  So, while my chances of ever actually seeing one “live” are poor…I keep an eye out on my hummingbird feeder, just in case.  ;-)
But until that happens, drawing one is about as close as I’ll get to this species.

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Drawing – Boreal Owl

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Boreal Owl - Drawing by Terry Sohl

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What fun!! Shingles!! Had a bit of a burning in my ribs earlier this week, and one night it turned into a full-blown fire from my back to my chest. Woke up the next morning to find a lovely rash on my chest, and ever since have been fighting some invisible guy who keeps wacking me in the ribs with a sword dipped in lava. Good times!

So, trying to get my mind occupied today, and drew this, a Boreal Owl. These are little owls of the northern forests (or forests of the mountain west). I’ve never seen one, as they are only very rare visitors to Dakota. Beautiful little birds though, and I do enjoy drawing owls.
I spent much more time with this one. Think I need to learn to just slow down and spend more time on all of them I draw. Just sometimes I get antsy and want to finish in one evening!!

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Drawing – Snail Kite

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
Drawing of a Snail Kite by Terry Sohl

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Another drawing.  This is a bird I’m definitely not going to see up here in South Dakota, as they’re a specialty of the tropics.  They do make it as far north as Florida, however.

Not all bird species are well-named, but Snail Kites definitely are.  They feed very heavily on snails, with their very long, hooked beaks specialized for extracting large snails like Apple Snails from their shells.
Snail Kite, with snail!

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Drawing – Barn Owl

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment
Barn Owl - Drawing by Terry Sohl

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Notice I’m a little heavy on the “Feathers” lately, and light on the “Folly”.  There’s certainly not an absence of “folly” in the news, and as we get closer to the election, there’s certainly going to be plenty of fodder for my blog in the coming weeks.  For now though…nice to focus on the feathers.

Another drawing, another bird I don’t have photos of.  I’ve seen Barn Owls on occasion here, including a couple of excellent looks for very cooperative birds.  But of course, those 2 occasions where times where I didn’t have my camera with me!  Beautiful, beautiful birds, and one I wanted to draw for a while.  However, I kept delaying, because the plumage on these guys is so variable and detailed.  There’s no doubt that this is the drawing that took me the longest to finish (better part of 5 hours).

 

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Drawing – Passenger Pigeon

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

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Of all the drawings I’ve done so far, I think there are only 2 species where I actually also have good photos.  Most are birds I don’t have photos of, so drawing is a way to “fill in the gaps”.

This is DEFINITELY a “fill in the gap” drawing, as it’s a bird I will never see!  This is a Passenger Pigeon.  Once one of the most abundant birds on the planet, then driven to extinction in a matter of a few decades.  There are some controversial proposals out there to “revive” extinct species through DNA extraction and genetic wizardry.  I for one am all for it, but I truly doubt it would ever “work” for a bird like the Passenger Pigeon.

Maybe someday they’ll be able to produce a Passenger Pigeon, but, one reason it’s thought the birds were driven to extinction was the disruption in their complex social structure.  The birds used to flock and roost in flocks numbering in the many millions, and it’s thought once numbers dropped below a certain threshold, the breeding and social structure of the species collapsed.  Even if they could recreate the species one day, I doubt they’d ever be able to get a self-sustaining wild population established.

Sad…really pretty birds.

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What Repub Convention? Common Nighthawk Drawing

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment

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Yes, the Republican convention was this week, and I’ve gone all week and not posted anything about it.  That’s by design.  It’s too frustrating to see that bunch of LIARS (I’m talking to YOU, Paul Ryan), and think in a few short months, they could potentially be in charge.

So…A nice way to ignore the madness that is American politics right now…take an evening and draw.  This is a Common Nighthawk.  I’ve been seeing these guys flying around our house in the evenings this week.  They are one of my favorite birds!  They fly around with mouths that REALLY open into a huge gaping maw, and suck up any mosquitos or other bugs that are flying around.

REALLY fun birds to watch!  REALLY tough bird for me to photograph!  I’ve only seen them perched on a few occasions, and never when I was in an opportunity to photograph them.  In flight, they to me are very “bat-like” when flying around, zipping and darting in an unpredictable fashion.  I have some really BAD photos of them, but nothing good.  Hence, a drawing!! Was relatively pleased how it turned out.

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