1. I enjoyed trying to draw. It is fun to really look at the details and try to recreate them in the sketchbook. That said, the bird in my drawing is too small and its shape is different from that in the photo. Putting the branches in the space was easy but drawing the bird was difficult. There is a lot of detail in the bird from its orientation on the branch to its individual feathers and I did not get those details correct in my drawing.
2. When drawing the leaves I noticed that they were attached alternately and I definitely would not have noticed that if I just looked at the photo. I would have glossed over the blemishes in the leaves as well. So drawing something really improves one's observational skills.