First Shorebirds of Spring

Solitary Sandpiper at Morris Arboretum. Watercolor Sketch by Ken Januski.

Spotted Sandpiper at Manayunk Canal. Watercolor Sketch by Ken Januski.

This time of year it's easy to be totally distracted by the often brief appearance of the neo-tropical migrants, like warblers, orioles, etc. Often they also are very boldly colored in yellow, red, orange, blue, etc. The shorebirds are less common, unless you live near the right body of water, or shoreline. And often they are around a bit longer.

And of course they are easier to see. If you're an artist it's a thrill to be able to see the entire bird, not just a wingbar, or a partial face. I think that's one reason I like seeing them and sketching and painting them. But they also offer an artistic challenge. Their shape, markings and colors are subtle. As I've mentioned many times I'm not to concerned with capturing the subtlety of markings, most of which aren't visible to the naked eye except with the help of optics. But shape is always there, and it is subtle.

We used to have the hardest time differentiating Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers with their large eyerings and bobbing tails. But over time it has become easy. The Solitary is so much more fragile and elegant looking. The Spotted is often clunky and ungainly. So I enjoy trying to get that difference down, even in these quick pencil and watercolor sketches(based on photos I took). For all the ungainliness of the Spotted though I think it is my favorite, if I were to actually have to choose between these two most welcome visitors.

And I should add, that I didn't title this 'First Shorebirds of 2016'. The reason for that is that the Killdeer is here even during winter.