Wild Turkey and Eastern Bluebirds

What could they possibly have in common? My yard comes to mind at the moment.

It was the turkeys that caused me to grab my camera and step outside. They were headed around the front of the house. I caught the tail end of the parade and since pursuit is a doomed activity, I didn't follow them. I paused instead and looked around. That's when I discovered a family of Eastern bluebirds dining on privet growing at the edge of the yard.

What is glorious about this, I've seen a pair, or possibly more than one pair, frequent the yard to hunt and check out my two nest boxes, one near the house, the other lower in the yard near the woods.

After this pair foraged on berries, they moved about the yard selecting various perches for hunting.  I captured the female hunting from the nest box near the woods. Dandy!  The more she likes the nest box, the happier I am. Now whether selection as a hunting perch has any relationship to nest box selection, I have no idea. I suspect not. But I'm optimistic just because of the frequency with which I'm seeing them.

As I was watching the bluebirds and snapping images, I noticed movement in the woods. The flock of turkeys had circled around the house and into the woods. But something changed their direction and suddenly out into the open yard they came. Ah! Look at the displaying that begins as the Toms encounter the flock of hens.

I have been privileged to see Toms displaying twice this winter, but this was the most spectacular. The beauty of the morning light against their fanned tails as they puffed up to more than twice their size was magical.

Not a combination I would have expected, bluebirds and wild turkeys.  But I will say, it made for a very satisfying morning in the yard! And when I looked through the photos later, I became intrigued with the Tom's faces. What a menacing expression they create by engorging their skin and enhancements.

I didn't quite capture that expression in my sketch, mostly because I think they are so much fun! I'll show you a portrait still in progress. There is nothing like the wonder and the intimacy of trying to capture a turkey's expression in watercolor!

Related Links:
More about the turkey's anatomy with sketch: A Turkey Work of Art
Click here to see Wild turkey in the snow and learn about their unique feather characteristics.
More about Eastern Bluebirds.  Watch for my upcoming article on the bluebird and Tree Swallow nestbox trail at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge in the March/April issue of the TN Conservationist.

The Beauty of November's Berries

Covered with berries and leaves earlier in the month, the Dogwoods in my yard are now bare of both. (Click images to enlarge.)All that remains are their upreaching limbs and tiny white buds, reminders of the crowd of birds, especially the robins, that covered their branches one morning and boldly announced their arrival.

But there are plenty of other berries still around, among them this native American Beautyberry (below) that I found at Ijams Nature Park. Expecting to find very little in the way of color when I stopped by, it took me by surprise. I even double checked to make sure the brilliant orange leaves were attached to the same limbs as the berries!

Who but Nature would pair these luscious colors together in such a grand display?!

October is most definitely a glorious month for leaves. But as November begins to fade, I think it steals the show, hands down, for its bountiful display of berries. Just ask the birds and squirrels who are busy harvesting them!

Of Monarchs and Milkweed

In this second post about my visit to the meadow at Ijams Nature Center, I'm celebrating the Monarch I encountered at the end of my journey. Her timing was delightful. I watched for a while, as she sipped nectar, landed on milkweed leaves, sipped more nectar, then settled again on a milkweed leaf, before I finally experienced the "wow" of realizing she was busy laying eggs. What a privileged moment!
Later that night, I opened the book I've been reading, No Way Home: The Decline of the World's Great Animal Migrations, by David S. Wilcove, and as if by magic, I found myself reading about the discovery of Monarch multi-generational migration. What an amazing story of natural wonder, both the perseverance of devoted naturalists and the story of the Monarchs themselves.
As you may know, Monarch caterpillars only eat the poisonous milkweed plant in eastern North America but neither the butterfly nor its other life stages can survive winters in this region. So they migrate, some wintering along the coast of California, but most, millions of them in fact, funnel into an area of old-growth forests in the mountains of Mexico. Amazingly, it isn't warm there either. But because they store fat in their bodies and winter in a semi-stuporous state protected by the forest canopy, they survive, stirring now and then when the temperature is warm enough to drink water and rehydrate. Milkweed with seed pods

When the time is right, they begin their journey north again, timed with the emergence of milkweed, mating and laying eggs as they go. Caterpillars are hatched, metamorphosis begins and new generations of butterflies emerge. And somewhere in this cycle as the summer comes to an end, a generation reverses directions once again, turning south toward their wintering grounds, continuing their reproductive cycle as they journey. And this is only a tiny glimpse into the fascinating mysteries of these butterflies' lives.

Like all things on this earth and in nature, habitat is changing due to both natural and man-made influences. Species of North American milkweed are declining due to agricultural practices and Mexico's mountain forests, though protected, are being fragmented by logging which in turn is making Monarch's more vulnerable to the harshness of winter.

As I read this story in David Wilcove's style, I felt even more gratitude for the moment I shared with this Monarch and for places in Tennessee like Ijams Nature Center and Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, where native plants grow full cycle and wildlife are supported in unfragmented habitat.

The more we learn about and understand the nature around us, the better stewards we become. Take a walk and investigate. And while you're out there enjoying the meadow, whisper "thank you" to the milkweed!

Next: The Bounty and the Goldfinch

Red-Shouldered Hawk Territory---III

"Today's observations were all about the house." Note: Apr 17th. I know that seems like an odd thing to say about red-shouldered hawk territory, but my photos and observations were mostly of the female playing around the house--on the roof, on the gutter, on the porch railing, on a patio table and the back railing.This is the house that shares the property with the nest. Both hawks stayed close to the nest on this three-hour visit, within sight of each other and/or calling to each other. That is to say, one was incubating on the nest, while the other remained nearby.
I’ve skipped a visit to bring you up to date and will go back to some other observations in my next hawk post. I was out of town over the weekend so I was feeling a bit of hawk withdrawal. Besides that, I especially wanted to check to see if we had hatchlings in the nest. The answer is, not yet. How will I know? Hummm….I’m guessing that I'll see something different, different activity, more attention to the nest, sitting higher on the nest when incubating maybe. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.
What I wanted to show you today looked to me like playing. Fun to watch. It was the first time I could capture that beautiful back view of the barred wings and tail while landing. This was what I saw out the window, the first time I saw one of the hawks.

You also get to see more views of those beautiful russet shoulders, the trait that gives these hawks their name. She looks quite at home, doesn't she?

To see the entire series on this nesting pair of red-shouldered hawks, click here.

Next: Greenery for the Nest (unless of course we have babies!)
Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #34 at Birdfreak.com to promote the conservation of our world's birds.

The Hawk’s Eye

…and beak, the angle of his throat, the top line of the head and neck as it meets the shoulder, all of these make up the impression we know as hawk.








The fact that I admire a subject and spend time observing it gives me a deeper connection for making art. And this connection activates my ‘critical eye’. This is a good thing. I’m not speaking of the critical dialog that taunts when we make mistakes or worry about others judging our work. I’m speaking of the keen eye of familiarity. The integrated knowing that says, yes, that’s it, or wait a minute, something’s not right.

This isn’t about getting it perfect to life either. Far from it. It’s about pleasing the artist. And what pleases me is having the subject travel through my eyes into my heart and back out again through my hands, onto the paper. And when its right, I know it. My eyes are happy.

Now, knowing something’s not right and knowing exactly what to change are two different matters. My advice to any aspiring artists out there is just get started. Mistakes are our best teachers. They train the eye and fine tune our ability to translate what we see onto the paper. It’s like being in the dark and watching the world gradually take shape as daylight appears. We see vague shapes, a little bit at a time until the light gets stronger and brighter and all the details finally come into focus. One way to get that effect while painting is to walk away from the table, get a good night’s sleep and come back again with fresh eyes.

Below you see my first sketch.

After finishing, I walked away and came back to look at it several times. My eyes were instantly drawn to the beak and my impression, "old man with no teeth". Having watched this hawk in action and finding him far from toothless, I knew I had to change at least the beak. But I waited until the next day before beginning.
This sketch is on sketchbook paper which doesn't absorb color like watercolor rag paper, so its easy to lift. Using a soft brush, clean water and a paper towel for blotting, I started by erasing the inside edges of the beak. What happened next surprised me. Suddenly all the distraction was removed and I could see the other contributing problems. I changed the angle of the throat, softened the eye, strengthened the brow and changed the way the top line and the neck entered the shoulder. Gradually my old man turned back into the hawk he was supposed to be. I could see many more slight adjustments, but my sketchbook paper said, enough. And I had accomplished what I intended to do, wrap my mind around the details and shape of a hawk.

His next portrait will be on watercolor paper. Isn't he magnificent?

More hawk observations and sketches coming up.

A Beach-y Day

When I opened the window this morning, while sipping coffee, I had the sensation I was at the beach. Unlike many other parts of the country, our weather in the TN valley has slipped back into moderate temperatures, 60's (F) in the day and 40's at night.
For the past three days we've been deluged with rain, soaking rain. But on this overcast day the wind took center stage, ebbing and flowing, sometimes whispering for an instant, then roaring through the tree limbs like an ocean tide. You can feel the air changing. We have colder temps promised and snow in the forecast, so I went out to get some bird feeding supplies. More on that later.It was also a perfect morning to play with paints. Over the past week, I have sketched the golden-crowned kinglet that I photographed in my yard. The nice thing about drawing is you don't have to have a perfect image, just a good reference for shapes and habitat. And while I sketched, I rediscovered how much I enjoy drawing. I forget sometimes when I'm away from it and then I reconnect with what keeps me coming back to it over and over again.
I used my sketchbook to get an idea of the values and colors I wanted to use, to see where I want to place the darks and lights. I tried different mixes of colors, too, so that when I begin on my watercolor paper, I'm warmed up and have a better idea of where I'm going. This is a second sketch of the kinglet on watercolor paper taped to a backboard and ready to paint.

Wordless Wednesday

Ultralight Migration Moves into Alabama

After spending a week in west Tennessee, the 2008 class of ultralight trained whooping cranes has finally moved into Alabama. With the change in Operation Migration's southerly migration route, this marks their first journey through the state of Alabama which greeted them with fresh snow. Richard van heuvelen describes the reaction of the juvenile cranes in his lead pilot's report. Also visit the photo journal to see some beautiful migration photos and the juveniles standing in the snow.

Painting: "Peaceful Morning", 29" x 21" original watercolor by Vickie Henderson, 2004.

Sketching Practice

When I go to visit my favorite art instructor in New York, Ann K. Lindsay, I am reminded of how actively my "critical mind" comments on my painting efforts. It makes me sigh sometimes, wondering if this will ever lessen. Ann says its always with us. And then I am reminded to "be kind," to step back and allow those critical thoughts and especially fears to subside. No effort is wasted. Our minds are learning, integrating, even when we think we're doing nothing.

For many of us, being kind to others is second nature. But thinking kindly about our own efforts, our practice before we get it right, doesn't come so easily. On a practical level, this critical thinking helps us fit in and strengthens our ability to cooperate in our families and community.But we also have our own perspective, an inner voice that allows for individual differences, our own uniqueness. And eventually we come to respect both the uniqueness in ourselves and in others. It is one of the joys of art classes. After a work session, we post our efforts on the wall and talk about what was hard and what we enjoyed, what we did and did not like about the effort. And when I look at everyone's work, it is wonderful, fresh and alive with discovery and uniqueness. When I am too busy with other things to practice drawing and painting, I come back to it with timidity. And that means my critical mind (which also seeks to protect me) is in high gear and shouting, "don't risk showing that to anyone." And so it was when I posted my first kinglet sketch.

I also stepped away from it leaving the sketch visible on my table until my opinions softened. I have since had time to create a few more sketches. And I learned that drawing a robin is much easier for me than a kinglet. The reason? I think its because angular shapes give my eye something to grab and work from. Angles break up the shapes. I sketched this robin in only a few minutes and was pleased with the first effort even though the legs are a bit short. The ease of this sketch could be from having seen many robins, even though this is my first attempt to draw one. But it also could be that sketching the kinglet warmed me up and quieted my doubt. Probably all of the above!
Critical thinking and seeing work together as we draw, paint, live life. Sprinkle in a little kindness as you practice and watch what happens.

Coming up: My Thanksgiving visitor and the painting

Watercolor Practice—Trees

A friend of mine asked me, "what do you have after a week-long painting workshop? Did you come back with paintings?" I laughed. "No, no new paintings, just lots of fundamentals and practice."

Getting familiar with the paints, the combining of colors to create rich neutrals, how much water and how much pigment, how the water and pigment move together on the paper, which brushes give what effect—these are the fundamentals of painting.

And since I had not painted for over a year, it is these fundamentals that I revisited. They weren’t in my back pocket anymore. I had to reconnect with them. It was a happy reunion.

Painting is much the same as playing basketball or learning photography or writing practice. You follow your passion and you practice. Through practice you develop skill, familiarity, confidence. You load your brain with the fundamentals.

Then when you want to paint, these fundamentals are right there in your brain’s library. You focus on your subject and the rest flows. This is the essence of talent—a loaded library.

I practiced trees, lots of trees.

Practice wets the appetite. It made me eager to paint more trees.