Pat

This photo made me think of the bird topography drawings in field guides, there they are, the different coverts and feathers, the scapulars and alula and all that bird landscape. It is a treat to draw from such a clear photo as in life these little guys will never sit still long enough for you to count the visible primaries.  It is challenging to try to record so much detail - in life it will be much more of an impression of a bright yellow flit among the leaves and maybe the male on territory singing. It is great though to see the feather tracts so clearly and this would be a good reference for bird topography. And the little feet with their long claws gripping the branch are neat to see. TT

I have kept a written journal for years and I like to draw. I started keeping a nature journal for our yard this year and I would like to add drawings to the photos and weather info. I would like to get the kids, grandkids and  house guests to add their nature observations and sketches too! I love the attentiveness and space that spending time drawing something achieves - it feels respectful to the subject and a way to get to know it better. We do see a fair bit of wildlife in our region and even in the yard, like this skunk, and making a drawing seems to bring me back to the moment of the sighting in a deeper way than taking a photo. I am very interested in seeing other journals and approaches to journalling. I loved the example given of a series of sketches to capture a behaviour. That would have been great to do with my skunk, I hope I will get another opportunity! I liked the different approaches to setting up a page.  Using field sketches to capture essential identification characteristics is something I would love to do to help learn more and I liked the note that we can create our own field guides to build our local nature.