Eveline

I chose just to sit at the window in my den, which looks out onto my back yard. It is only -5°C here today - which is very warm; last week it was in the -20 to 25°C range most days. It is also completely overcast, and there is virtually no wind. I had low hopes for what I would be able to observe.  I had seen a red squirrel earlier in the day, as well as the rabbit that lives under our deck; but, no wildlife at all for the 1/2 h or so that I sat at the window. This dearth of activity forced me to really look. I observed two interesting things: 1) the dead crab apples that are still hanging on my tree are relatively evenly distributed; although, perhaps less densely on the north side of the tree. Possibly because the wind in this area blows predominantly from the NW most times of the year?? Contrarily, the few remaining bunches of seeds still hanging on my Manitoba Maple are only located on the north side of the tree. I couldn't think of an explanation for this one, except that I think the seeds have predominantly been stripped off the tree by said local red squirrel. Perhaps she left more on the north side because it is windier and makes foraging on those branches more precarious?? No clue. Interesting to try to reason through it though!

Juan - I think you did an admiral job on those challenging feathers; but I think you really caught the head. The angle, the light. Nicely done.

Karen, what a terrific idea to take this course with your son. Please tell him I enjoyed his drawing and think he did a great job of perching the warbler on the branch!

That is lovely Ida. I really enjoy the way you made the watercolours give the illusion of different textures.

I really enjoyed drawing from  the photo. I didn't feel rushed and could keep going back and pulling in details I had missed previously. The most difficult for me was details like the moss. I find I lose patience trying to render it. And the leaves. Even the feathers actually, I kind of tried to make the impression of several layers of feathers, including the wings, but I lose patience getting it 'just so'. I liked that I could go back and correct the head and beak angle, but I still think it is slightly 'off'.

@Lee Ann van Leer Great question Kendra. Very interesting that so little is known about the courtship ritual. This is usually such a big part of what you read about whenever trying to learn about different birds from your standard guidebooks. Now I'm really curious why crows are so different (i.e., if it is in fact a short courtship period, then why? Does it make them vulnerable somehow?)

That's interesting Matt. I live in Winnipeg - which has a very similar climate to Edmonton - and the crows do not leave here in the winter. I have only ever seen a raven inside the city once (that I know of - quite possibly I wasn't able to distinguish before this course) - and it was yesterday (in the winter). I always thought we didn't see ravens in the city because they prefer woodsy areas, but maybe it is also because the crows don't leave. I will watch the exhaust fans at the local 7-11 over the course of this winter though...maybe the ravens are congregating there after all!

That is so interesting (to me) that you associate ravens with higher elevations Sally. I live in the Canadian prairies (above N Dakota) so elevation is not a topic around here. Even though they do exist in my area, I mostly have always associated them with 'the North'. I am ashamed to admit that I actually didn't realise they lived in the western States until I saw the map. As far as different behaviours - my main distinction on that is that crows are gregarious and live in groups, whereas I believe ravens tend to be solitary.