Talk About Being in the Right Place at the Right Time
Reposted from April 2022 newsletter.
Two days after returning to Anchorage I went to Spenard Crossing to see what species of ducks had also arrived in Anchorage. Spenard Crossing is an ideal location for early migrant birds. It is a small pond and one of the first bodies of water to melt out. This means concentrated numbers of birds in a small space... super fantastic for birders!
What did my wandering eyes see at Spenard Crossing?
Canada Geese, Mallards, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, Red-necked Grebes, a Redhead, several species of Gull. Herring Gulls and Glaucus-winged Gulls do an awful lot of cross-breeding (a story for another time!) so it was hard to tell them apart. Also a few Trumpeter Swans, a Northern Pintail, and...
a very bold immature Bald Eagle perched on a low branch in a nearby tree!
Although Bald Eagles reach full size in their first year, the distinctive black and white markings that identify them as mature don't develop for a few years. Until then, they are covered in gorgeous shades of warm browns and yellows.
Bald Eagles are "monomorphic", meaning males and females look alike. I had no way to know whether this bird was male or female.
This bird spent some time on the ground, then hopped into the water mashing around with its feet, then back onto the land.
Eventually it took flight low over the water, causing a great raucous amongst the geese, mallards, and gulls. Click here for a fun, quick video of this event!
My field sketches are a bit rough, as I'm a little rusty on drawing birds from life having spent the winter focused mostly on non-moving subjects.
For those who aren't familiar with the process of drawing from life, particularly moving subjects, it's very common to have lots of "chicken-scratch" marks on a page as one works to capture the various shapes of a bird or other animal as it flits and jumps and turns and goes about its business.
Note-taking is an essential accompaniment to these quick, gestural sketches to complete the story laid out on a page.
These two images show exactly that, the second one representing what I put on paper in the field. Compare it to the finished page and you'll see some tweaks but all the sketches have a note to mark any changes.
Now that the temperature is warming up and spring migration is picking up, I am looking forward to many hours in the field observing and drawing these extraordinary, astonishing, fascinating creatures. Maybe a marmot or ptarmigan, arctic fox, or even a bear will accompany the birds in my sketchbook!
Talk about being in the right place at the right time.