Showing posts with label identification. Show all posts
Showing posts with label identification. Show all posts

Bird Situation (Sounds, Identification and Sketches)

There is a certain change in bird activity in the area as migration season is in full swing. Some birds are just passing by, others are arriving to spend winter here. With the changes in weather throughout the world many birds are migrating less or skipping the whole ordeal altogether (for example some turkey vultures are no longer leaving during summer - our neighboring family still does though, and they are back). 

I noticed how much more bird sounds we have by the end of September and since then it just continues to multiply and change. I am using an app to identify birds by call (Merlin Bird ID is my current choice - though there are many) - simply make my phone listen and then I get a list of birds with some additional information. Then I can look them up, find them in my photos of the trees, draw them, and wonder about their names too :)

But for some of the birds I do not need an app to identify them by sound or otherwise. And the other day there was a huge argument between two groups of them which lasted for several hours. I wish I knew what it was about! 



Orange Thistle

I saw this beauty in a bouquet that my friend put together - it looked so familiarly thistle-ish and so fiery orange I immediately was drawn to it and made a sketch with scissors to try and capture the fire above the onion-shaped head. And later I identified it as a Safflower!



Sketchbook #111: Treasures - Acorn Collection

There are many kinds of oak trees in California and I've been trying to learn about them for a while. This year my acorn collection grew and I'm going to take a more systematic approach and keep all acorns I collect from squirrels until I positively ID them :)

Sketchbook #111: Treasures - Acorn Collection

January 2014: Treasures

January 2014: Treasures by apple-pine
I have no clue what tree this was but I found these "boats" with seeds like honeycomb and now obsessed with identifying it :)

May 2011: Digitalis


May 2011: Digitalis, originally uploaded by apple-pine.

This front yard is a real forest - overgrown with all colors of roses, digitalis and many other plants.

Here is a picture I took while sketching on the spot (twit-twit: http://twitpic.com/52eki5)