The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › The Power of Comparison
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Our state parks reopened this week, so my husband and I headed to Enchanted Rock to hike the Echo Canyon Trail. I’m an official interpretive guide for the park but haven’t been able to lead any hikes since the pandemic. Only a few visitors are allowed at the park, must wear masks and social distance, so it was very peaceful with a lot less visitors than normal. It’s my favorite time of year at Enchanted Rock with all the gorgeous wildflowers blooming. I did an observation of two yellow flowers in bloom, the prickly pear cactus and a brown bitter weed. I loved the experience of detailing what I saw in the journal. I need a bigger journal for sure. I have much more I would have liked to write down if there was space.
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I did my comparison on a dangerous situation involving an invasive species threatening another species brought to the Americas in the 1800s, the honey bee. A single Asian Giant Hornet can decimate a honey bee hive in about 3 hours. If you see one of these hornet contact your state agriculture department.
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Hi Nancy, Thank you so much for posting this important page. I admired your notes and your drawings, and now I’ll be able to identify that hornet. Thanks. Ann
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@Ann Hi, Nancy. Wow, 2 inches long - that really is a giant hornet! AND it decapitates the poor honey bees - yikes. I don’t have any bee boxes, but have family/friends who do; they must be concerned. I’m so glad I read your journal pages, well done and topical. Many thanks.
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It was quite fun to do a comparison study. Especially once you realise there's so many details you don't take in unless you are actively looking for diferences. As a field biologist I have no problems balancing drawing, writing and numbers and actually wonder how did it take me so long to start sketching the things I was seeing!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.< ;
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I decided to compare 2 beetles. They had more differences than similarities. I made a table with some info about them.
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I like your study and table very much
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@Isabel Thank you so much. It took a long time to complete, but I learned a lot . I really enjoy reading and seeing other student posts! Avery
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The beetle study is just sooo pretty and I don't like beetles! Did you use watercolor or watercolor pencils?
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@Deborah Hi, thanks so much. I mostly used watercolor and some thin marker in tight dark places.
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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.
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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.
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Very nice watercolors and study!
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Beautiful bird renderings!
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I'm captivated! Beautiful!
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I appreciate these watercolors of birds that I have so often seen.
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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.
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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.
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Great toi have a chance to record and define what I see.
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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.
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