Adult males of the Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) have glossy black plumage, a yellow eye ring and an orange-yellow bill. However, a young blackbird male, also called a juvenile blackbird, has brown plumage with light patches on the breast, making it more similar to a female. As he ages, his plumage changes to the glossy black that characterizes adult males. The bill of a young blackbird is often dark, but gradually turns yellow. The male I found in the blackberry…
Canson paper Illustration Bristol extra-blanc, extra smooth, 250g/m2, 21.0 x 29.7 cm (A4)Faber Castel Polychromos Pencils The Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is a songbird found primarily in North/West America. Males have a glossy black head, back and tail, with white markings on the wings and rust-red flanks. Females are browner in color, but have the same white and rust-red markings. You usually find them in scrublands, forests and gardens, where they scavenge on the ground in search of food consisting…
Cotman aquarelverf (tubes),Winsor & Newton Watercolour professional, Hot pressed, 100% cotton, 300g/m2, 25.4 x 35.6 cm The red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) prefer salt/brackish water to fresh water. This goosander spends the winter in sea that is not too rough. I saw (and photographed) this male on the sea side of the Brouwersdam. The male has a beautiful green head with a spiny crest (no comb has been passed through that). A bright red eye contrasts nicely with it. Underneath this…
Faber Castel Polychromos & Pastel pencils 21×30 cm The Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) used to be super rare in the Netherlands, high on the lists of birders. Fortunately, they are now seen somewhere every year as a migrant, especially in the North Holland dune areas and on the Wadden Islands Texel, Vlieland, Schiermonnikoog. October is the best month to spot this bird. But nevertheless still rare and still on many lists. Also on mine, because I too have never seen…
Canson paper Illustration Bristol extra-blanc, extra smooth, 250g/m2, 21.0 x 29.7 cm (A4)Faber Castel Polychromos Pencils Unfortunately, I have never seen the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) in real life, but it is high on my wish list. They sometimes appear in large numbers as invasion guests, even in cities. As such, they are not very shy. Since they are apparently found more and more often in the Netherlands in winter, I should be able to see them one day. I…
Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Pastel pencils on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White paper The male Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) has a beautiful brightly coloured pinkish-red underside. The female is more dull in colour, more beige-grey. They usually live in pairs or small groups in forests, parks and gardens. They are quite shy, which sometimes makes them difficult to spot. You can hear them though, they have a soft, whistling call that sounds somewhat melancholic. They eat mainly…
Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Pastel pencils on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White paper (Northern) shovelers (Spatula clypeata) are a touch smaller than the common mallard. They can be clearly recognized by the somewhat strangely shaped broad beak, it looks like a spatula. With this specially shaped beak with large blades, they can efficiently slurp plant and especially animal plankton as well as snails, crustaceans, insect larvae, seeds and the like from the water. The male (in…
Faber Castel Polychromos pencils, 21×15 cm Butterflies are one of my passions, I have photographed a lot of them. So why not draw a butterfly? That’s why I took one that everyone knows: the Common blue (Polyommatus icarus) The Common blue is the most common and most widespread blue in the Netherlands and Belgium and can be observed from April to October. You will find these mainly on herb-rich grasslands and roughs. Although very common, they are also just very…
Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Pastel pencils on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White paper The Emperor dragonfly or Blue emperor (Anax imperator) is a beautiful dragonfly that is common in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is also the largest dragonfly species in the Netherlands with a body length between 64 and 84 millimeters. The male is most conspicuous by his sky-blue abdomen with a black longitudinal stripe on the upper side. The eyes are green with a…
This monkey with the bright war colors and large fangs (thumb-sized!) and up to 81 cm tall, is a mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx). Despite its ferocious appearance, it is a shy animal. They live in groups of about 15-30 individuals, but this can even go up to about 300 individuals. In the past, when the species was not yet endangered, there were even groups of more than a thousand animals.The groups consist mainly of females, which consist of several smaller harems….
Not because I have a beard myself, but I think these are nice monkeys, the bearded monkey (Macaca silenus) as we called it in Dutch. More officially he is known as Lion’s Tail Macaque or as Wanderoo. It is a macaque species of about 55 cm. Both sexes have grayish black fur with large, gray sideburns that run in a wreath around the face. This has given them the nickname ‘bearded monkey’. The tail ends in a dark plume, just…
I thought the stern look of this Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) was a nice photo for Halloween. But they are actually cute and also quite impressive birds with their frizzy head feathers, large orange throat pouch and a wingspan of up to 3.50 meters. Until the 15th century, we had populations of these pelicans in the Netherlands. They were found mainly in the mouths of the major rivers and in the lakes along the coast. Unfortunately, due to overhunting and…