Winter Sketching

There is something about snow and the way it draws birds to the feeders that makes me want to step outside to sketch.  That was my urge on Friday (Jan 23rd) just after the snow stopped falling.  

34 F degrees is not exactly sketching weather but with gloves and a wool cap, I was okay for a while. Though a window view sounds warmer, had I been watching from indoors, I might have missed the big yellow tabby that came stalking and scattered all the finches.  A couple of hand claps sent him on his way.  

It's also likely I would have missed the chipping of the Hermit Thrush. He was chipping, wing-twittering and cocking his tail, all at the same time as I watched through my binoculars.  Cocking that rust-colored tail and letting it fall slowly is a characteristic behavior of the species and sometimes helps with identification.  

This Hermit Thrush likes to hang out around the feeders and every now and then, hop up on the suet plate to grab a crumb of home-made suet.  Quiet and secretive, he runs through the garden in starts and stops on dainty pinkish legs, hunting for insects.  At other times, like this one, he lands on a low-lying limb and makes thrushy chip notes in the shadows.

Winter brings a lot of fun birds and is a great time to watch for visiting species.  It's also a good time to practice fast sketching!  I lasted about 30 minutes!