I wanted to do a comparison of some interesting birds but, with cool outdoor temperatures still (and limited access to parks due to the current COVID-19 lockdown), I used a postcard someone had sent me years ago showing six different owl heads. I chose two that I have personally seen and sketched them below, then looked in my bird guides for information on each one.

1) I learned there are many differences in colour, size, shape, and behaviour between the two species although they have common features, such as no ear tufts and large facial disks to gather light while hunting at night.

2) I think it's possible to combine drawings, written comments, and measurements or other numeriacal data on the journal page as they come to you (or as you find things in research material). This somewhat cluttered look appeals to me as it makes you study the finished page more carefully later when you want to review all the facts and features of the observations.

 

 

I noticed the bend in the cedar branch and how they are related to the greenery, and how loose the twigs are. I took more time studying the underside of the hemlock needle, and how dense they are. So... more detail seen and investigated. Balancing data, text and drawings will take practice. Need to investigate more before drawings to determine what is needed, them lay out, leaving space for additional discoveries.

I found my first comparison study very difficult ... choosing to sketch two orchids was way too ambitious. It was challenging to get proportions right, to indicate texture and shading, and it was especially hard to capture the tiny details, but it was a great exercise in observing closely! I’m hoping the future lessons will help me improve my drawing skills.  As for a balance on my journal pages, I’ve followed Jack Laws’ videos for several months, and I have his book on Nature Journaling, so I had started developing a style, but got away from it when I started the course. I think it’s time to return to some of that now, in terms of how I lay out each page, and what I include. I love this course and am learning so much! Thank you, Liz!

I found it to be a useful exercise but once in the middle of it I realized choosing two more contrasting examples would have been better, since the two plants might just have been the same with different color and growth stages. Still useful as a practice tool. Also taught me to better organize comparison criteria: height, color, type of plant, leaf and petal dimensions and characteristics, etc... I went about it a little haphazardly. Great practice, nonetheless. Anything that sharpens the eye and trains you to observe and note, is good!

I sat outside for a short period on a chilly April day trying to sketch in between online classes I had to teach. I almost resented going back inside. I was in the edge of the woods so the Mayapples are already here and the invasive Garlic Mustard plants. As I walked through the woods I looked down and saw these as a  top down viewpoint. Of course the Garlic Mustard is taller than the parasol like Mayapples(no "apple" yet) and has already begun to flower with a 4 petal white flower and has ridged leaves versus the Mayapple with the symmetrical lobed leaves.

This was my first effort at field journal comparison journal. I had fun sitting on a stool in a small garden in my backyard during the “stay at home” order. I found so many interesting things to follow up on like the iridescent blue green fly that kept me company. I found out later that he is called a “long legged” fly and he is a decomposed. So fit right in with our lesson. I compared a gerbra daisy with a salvia.

Here is my journal page, which really spilled over to another page because it was so interesting, I had to follow up on the internet with some questions.

I compared andromeda and leucothoe, both planted in my yard. I chose these because of some superficial similarities: general leaf shape, presence of dried flowers from last season, new spring flowers forming, overall shape and size of the shrub. By looking more closely, I could see that the form and branching was quite different. The arrangement of leaves (alternate on both) showed some observable differences, too. The andromeda appears from a distance has a rosette of leaves at the end of each branch. The leucothoe has alternating leaves at each node, and the stem itself zig-zags at each node, whereas the andromeda's stem remains straight at the nodes.

It's spring, so there's new growth in our yard.  I compared the new growth of an evergreen and a perennial.  Enlightening! When writing and recording as descriptive, the location/placement of info.  seems self-evident.  Artful?  A goal for sure, as is figuring out how to insert image.< ;

I did a comparison of two flowering plants that are forming mattes in my currently fallow garden area.  It really did help to focus attention on various details doing the comparison.  The two form very dense mattes, and appears there is some type of competition going on between them.  Putting two items on the same page is a great technique!

I compared two plants in my house. It's been a bit tricky to get outside to do it while hiking with two kids and my husband (also I've been birding! Working on learning the sound!) Just as in the above video, the longer I looked at the plants, the more that I noticed and started off seeing their differences, but after a bit of time started to note some similarities that weren't readily obvious. I enjoyed the focused study!

I think adding a lot of different type of information - measurements, height, shape, etc. gives a greater picture of something and in the future can help with identification or with recalling the moment.

At first I didn't think that many details was that important on my first mushroom. Then when I started the second mushrooms I started to realize the differences. Some where very obvious but I wouldn't think it record the texture of the stalk on the first one if I didn't see how textured and complex the second one was. I started to compare everything: colors, shapes, where it grew, etc. It seems like that would come naturally but this activity really did forces me to pull out those details that we may take for granted on first glance. 

These are two conifers.  I first noticed their different shapes.  I continued to draw after I wrote my notes.  Maybe next time I'l take my notes on the side and add them to the page after the drawings are done.  I wanted to sketch the cones on the page but there is no room for that.

I decided to compare 2 beetles. They had more differences than similarities. I made a table with some info about them. 

I haven't done many comparison studies, but I have done some. I thought the comparison study helped me focus better on the unique characteristics of the black-capped and the chestnut-back chickadees that I was comparing, and the similarities between them. I learned that creating a comparison study can help you distinguish different and similar characteristics about two different things.

When balancing drawing and writing in my journal, I think I will balance them depending on what I want to do that day, and what I want to write/draw about.

I have been observing this two different bird species for three months. Both are black and nest in the bougainvillea in front of my house. When I made this comparison study I notice that the Great-tailed Grackle  (left) has yellow eyes, is bigger with longer tail and beak than the Cowbird (right). Maybe he has a stronger beak so he can eat anything, he can eat from the garbage bags. The Cowbird is chubby, has red eyes and is not aggresive as the Great tailed Grackle.

We were in Florida back in February and we were camping at Devil’s Den in Williston .  The days were warm and I sat at a picnic table and drew these two items.  They have totally different textures and I was trying to use the hatching, contour hatching, and some scribbling in this exercise.   I learned that these techniques help to convey depth and texture like whether something is smooth or rough.

I compared the leaves of three backyard plants. The rhododendron and the laurel were very similar and symmetrical while the azalea was quite different with a rather random, but connected series of paths, suggesting that the laurel and rhododendron might be related. The actual rhodie and laurel plants themselves are quite different though and the laurel shape is more closely related to the azalea in shape with multiple stems coming from the ground rather than one or two stems rising with multiple off shoots like the rhodie.

Great toi have a chance to record and define what I see.

Just exactly that..I need to focus to even see the differences. It’s a discipline thing.

Drawing , writing, recording come naturally if you are concentrating on only one or two items.

the short notation with a dot before it works for me interspersed with the drawings.The research that follows, the questions asked are equally important to me.

I finally completed my comparison of the Junco and Chickadee both of which frequent our feeder.  I am still not drawing from the real thing - this is from the Sibley Field Guide but it did allow me to really see the differences in their form and to focus on differences in behaviour.  No modelling in the drawings but maybe I will do that later.  Scribbling is useful.

I have a small grove in my garden is covered with Lesser Prewinkle.  Only two yards from it,  Balkan Anemones have been conquering the gravel path. The flowers of both plants  have a very similar purple violet color and the plants are also similar in height. ( a few inches) .  But all the rest is quite different: I noticed different shapes of the leaves (shiny and single /opposite  and smooth edged  versus  mat and composite/ dented). Flower stem were bold versus hairy.  The five  petals of the Prewinkle merge into a tube shape at the base of the flower with five sepals. The Anemone has about fourteen petals, but I couldn’t find any sepals! This triggered my curiosity and after  consulting some botanical websites, the mystery was solved:  The ‘petals’  seem to be false and are actually colored sepals! This was a true eye opener. Without this drawing excercise, it would never come to my mind that I was looking at a flower chalice..

Finally getting back to the class after a longer hiatus during the holidays that expected. For this exercise I studied two nests, it was a good way to make more focused observations than just looking at one object.

This exercise helped me really observe the different attributes of the two types of tree flowers.  I think it will help me identify species.

It is still too cold to do anything outside here, where I live. I collected a group of tiny coniferous cones that were all attached together on a branch (group of branches) on the ground where they had fallen, and used these in a comparison with a larger pine cone. The pine cone was a little smaller than fist sized and the group of 9 small cones were similar or just a little smaller than the pine cone.  I wish I knew what kind of tree the tiny cones were from (they are not hemlock, as I do know what those are like). I honestly can't say what I learned from this, aside from careful observation of details which I think I would have done just from the fact of drawing them anyway.