A few photos from birding, October 8, 2022

First, the weather was crazy–25C and sunny, so sunny that if I hadn’t put on sunblock I’m sure I would have burned. This is very strange for the second week of October.

We hit Burnaby Lake and Colony Farm, but did extended tours of each and saw plenty of birds and other assorted critters, including a snake and coyote (alas, we could not get shots of either in time).

Here are a few shots of the million (well, 500+) I took.

The coot is ready for its close-up.
Duck feeding frenzy.
Eagles flying directly toward us, and then overhead.
Grebe in the late afternoon sun, at Colony Farm.

Hermit thrush outside the hizzy

Another birb was bopping around in the wall garden outside my window this morning, so I grabbed some shots, once again through a closed window to not disturb it.

According to the Merlin app, this is a Hermit Thrush, the first time I’ve seen one (at least knowingly). Spiffy!

A drawing of a ring-necked duck

I spent way more time than I should have trying to figure out what to do with the water. A simple, flat colour? Add ripples? Make it look semi-realistic? Bright? Dark? Medium? Hot pink?

In the end, I settled for a slightly layered look using darker blues and a flat paint brush.

Rockin’ robin

The robin in the reference photo for this was standing in tall grass (for a robin), hiding its feet. I thought about filling them in, but in the end just cropped off the bottom of the drawing. I felt a little Liefeld at the time.