Sketching Birds

Blue Jay - 5x5in - ink, pencil, on toned paper.

    Sketching birds is not one of my usual pursuits but when one ties flies with their feathers it is hard not to occasionally pass the time finding beauty in their color.  Last week it looked like a few Blue Jays got into a fight in my front yard so being the fly tier I am, I took the tail feathers as future tools of the trade.  They also serve as a good inspiration for a sketch.

   I also enjoy watching the great Blue Heron troll the waters of my mountain streams.  They are ultimate masters in finding fish and a stocked stream I frequent is a perfect place for a few of these majestic birds to set up shop.  I will tell you that having one of these massive birds dive bomb you in the middle of a back cast is not an event you will appreciate.  In fact it scares the junk out of you if you are unlucky enough not to see it coming.