Kurt
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I was not aware at the sheer number of hummingbird species, and that most of them were non-migratory, spending their lives in Tropical Climates. Hummingbirds are so diverse int heir colors, tails, head-crests, and even their beaks. Once you spend time looking at them, you can really see all of the variety! I will definitely look into placing a hummingbird feeder in my yard to allow for my local hummingbirds a place to feed!
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Hummingbirds have a very intense migration, with some crossing the entire Gulf of Mexico in a day of flight. I can't think of any other birds that migrate so far compared with their body length, when you put into perspective how small they are and how far they fly, the Hummingbird is truly an amazing set of birds! In my area, Anna's Hummingbirds can be spotted, or heard, year round. I look forward to further investigating them in all seasons!
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I was not aware that hummingbirds go into torpor, and was under the impression that Hummingbirds needed to stay flying most of the day to consume all the nectar they needed to survive. I knew Hummingbirds consumed a lot of nectar over the course of the day, and that they had incredibly high metabolic rates, to accommodate their incredibly fast wing speeds. I was also not aware that certain species of hummingbirds consumed spiders. This was a surprise because I thought that a hummingbirds beak was like a straw or proboscis on an insect, and that it could not open wide at all.
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Growing up in the US East Coast, I was only ever exposed to one type of hummingbird, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. My grandmother had a hummingbird feeder that she would put out in the summer and would get visited by a few of them. Since moving to Arizona, I have encountered another species, the Anna's Hummingbird. Which I have spotted resting on trees in my neighborhood, and flying around gathering nectar from various flowers.
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Gesture drawing allowed me to draw a single animal in many scenarios, which I might not usually do especially if I was focusing on a still image or trying to draw only from memory. For the duck, for example, I got many different head and tail motions, and then a great capture of the spread wings and elevated body. Had I been told to simply draw a duck I would likely have drawn it very still and placid, which isn't true to nature at all; most animals, birds especially, are constantly moving some part or the whole of their bodies. This was good practice for further bird investigations in the field.
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Challenging, but I was surprised at how close to the real thing my images were. They look more like shadows than the items, though, with little to no detail separating foreground from background. It allowed me to see how certain things turn and move in the animals body.
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Looking at 6 different methods of shading has, I feel helped with understanding how to draw objects and render them to look more three-dimensional. Still, though, this technique could use more work and I will continue to practice with it. When I lok at items I have drawn, attempting to pay attention to chiaroscuro, shading, and other methods to make it look three dimensional, I see just a flat image that's darker in some areas than others, I need to continue working to fully show these objects as they are.
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1. Birds are animals I enjoy drawing, they are probably the animal I draw the most. It was neat to jump in and attempt to create a realistic image of a bird. It was challenging to get the idea of three dimensions in the sketch, most of my drawings are very liner and 2d. I noticed how the birds feet gripped the branch, usually I just draw a few lines for the feet without much care to what they are actually doing, so it was good to slow down and pay closer attention. Slowing down allows me to notice the birds color, and try to perhaps pick up on any behavior (where is the bird looking, why is it looking that way, is it looking at something specific?)... I would try to pay more attention to head shape for future ones, as this one shows not as much delineation between head and body.
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1. I want to rely less on my camera and sharpen my memory, and I feel that journaling will help do this. I want to get better at drawing birds and other animals too. 2. I will set up each day in my journal with intention: Date, Time, What Feeders I was Observing, and What Birds I saw. I will try to include some sort of illustration in every day. 3. I'm not sure how much I will use color in my journals, and where I will just use descriptors. usually when I try to add color I don't get the right blend so I will try to work on that as well.
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Since American crows spend so much time as a family, inbreeding might lessen the amount of healthy breeding partners long term. It might also exacerbate certain negative traits, predispositions of certain illnesses or other diseases. We see similar concerns show up with dogs that are repeatedly interbred with close relatives to create traits which, while desirable to humans, can be detrimental tot he dogs (see, for example, the snout of the pug being too short.) Could more inbreeding lead to shorter beaks, weaker eyesight, or other negative traits in crows? The species as a whole could be weakened as family groups get tighter and tighter genetically.
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The size, range, and lifestyle of the crow definitely give it an easier time over certain other birds for breeding. Crows are generalists, which means they can do many different things, and survive in different environments. Crows stick with their parents and with their families, allowing them to hold territories. The territory of a crow might also be something not particularly appealing to other birds, like cities, cemeteries, or college campuses. Crows can take on the role of a breeder with more ease than other birds, and have more options available to them (inherit, move, pair-up, share).
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Growing up I used to see flocks of Canada geese flying overhead in the famous V formation, calling out as they did so. They would stop at my local lake and children would often get chased by them, though the geese would also be harassed by people too. These were probably groups of 7 to 10 birds.
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It was interesting that the teams need to look for new nest every year, as American Crows do not re-use their nests. The wing tags seemed large, and I wonder if there was any change to flying patterns as a result? I wonder, using radio and tag tech, what did you learn bout how far a crow will leave its territory...do some travel hundreds of miles away and stay there?
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Sometimes I think I get it, by beak size, or amount of feathers at the neck...then it turns out I was wrong! I need to keep looking at the beaks of crows and ravens to help distinguish!
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1. It's unlikely that a crow destroyed the nestlings and eggs, in fact, it is more than likely it was a snake or a squirrel. These creatures are much more likely to attack baby birds int he nest. Even other birds, including Jays, are more likely than crows to harm and eat baby birds. 2 / 3. I do not live in an area populated by crows, but I do live in an area populated by ravens. Honestly, until this lesson I had not considered that I was seeing ravens, I thought they were crows. I did grow up in an area that had crows, but did not have ravens, so I have experienced both!
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It's a little bit of trivia, but it was interesting that the Egyptians glyphs had other animals, and people, in profile, but the owl was seen head-on. This extends to current applications of owls in image form too, most bird emojis are profile, with the owl being the exception. Their front facing eyes, facial disk, and prominent downturned beak make them more distinguished when viewed from the front! Owls, despite (or perhaps because of?) their mostly nocturnal nature, are a very big part of human culture cross the world, extending into popular culture today. I had also never heard of, or considered, that there were owls that went after fish. These owls look quite similar to hawks or falcons, vs the traditional depiction of an owl.
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Based on this, I have heard many creatures in the night which I had not expected. The particularly spooky call of the grey fox and deer were a surprise. I have heard Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls, and Burrowing Owls either in my area or back east. I will try to have Merlin on-hand for any future calls I hear in the night, which could possibly be Owls or other night-time birds.
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I've noticed as spring turns to summer that a previously unseen bird, the Gambel's Quail, has decided to venture into my backyard. I've noticed usually two males and one female, feeding on the ground from seeds that fall from my feeder. More recently, I have noticed the quails traveling in larger family groups, with the chicks between mother and father. However, because my backyard is walled, I have yet to see the chicks in my yard, only the adults.
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The nocturnal lifestyle of owls distinguishes them from many other bird species. Because owls consume food whole, they do not digest or pass certain materials (bone, fur, feathers) and need to regurgitate those as pellets. Owl pellets are a unique and useful way of understanding certain diets of specific owl groups. Like most birds, owls will lay and incubate their eggs, raise their young and care for their young for a while after hatching. They do not often build their own nests like most bird species do, and instead look for ready-made homes. Owls form pair-bonds to raise young, similar to other birds. Like other birds they return to the same nesting grounds year after year barring certain changes to the area.
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I had never heard of fish owls before, it was surprising that certain types of owls eat fish! They would need to rely on their eyes over their ears. I had also never considered that larger owls might consume insects or arachnids. (I wonder what the pellets of an owl appear like when they consume invertebrates or amphibians)
