This little bird was born on the rocky slopes of the Chugach Mountains in Anchorage, AK, where I spent a morning observing and sketching it.

A champion of migration, the Northern Wheatear comes to breed in Alaska, all the way from wintering habitat in sub-Saharan Africa, an approximate 9000 mile journey round-trip!

Working up sketches from first-hand field observation is an impactful way of remembering details like shape, form, color, texture, behavior, and even the habitat in which the plant or animal develops.

I think I will always remember this beautiful encounter.

Juvenile Northern Wheatear
Watercolor
8×12” unframed