More British Birds…

Treecreeper Screen print final

The humble British treecreeper – my mum thinks there are probably loads of treecreepers in Britain but we wouldn’t know either way as they are so well camouflaged! This one is emerging from the multi-coloured Alder tree trunk.

Pied Wagtail Screenprint final

I see, and hear, Pied Wagtails everywhere – at the coast, in the city and across the countryside. I was inspired to depict this one perching on a rock after I read about the fact that a lot of birds that live near water bob their tails up and down. Nobody knows why this is but some people think it is an attempt to mimic the movement of the water around them.

Coal Tit Screenprint

The Coal Tit is one of the lesser known of the Tit family. I started looking at them for this print and realised their markings and colouring is very striking. This one is on a Witch Hazel branch.

Bullfinch Screen print Final

I love bullfinches – they are quite shy birds but once you have an idea of their shape and sound you can see them in lots of places. This one spent a while picking at berries just outside the kitchen window at my parents’ place in Cumbria. A female bullfinch, whose colouring is the same except the pinky orange is replaced by an equally beautiful lilac grey, was sitting on a branch not far away contemplating the world.

Mallards, Screen print final

I’ve avoided making an image of mallards for ages, partly because they’re so ubiquitous and its easy not to notice how beautiful they are. So here it is, a lovely male mallard and his  equally lovely female companion.

Thrushes Screen print

I can’t resist a moonlit bird and here, to complete the latest set of British Birds, is a thrush, perched on a branch in a moonlit field. Inspired by a similar scene witnessed from the kitchen window where a thrush sat for ages on a fence post at dusk looking into the distance. I couldn’t tell you if it was a song thrush or a mistle thrush, but for the sake of poetic license I would like to think it was a mistle thrush because of their characteristic behaviour of singing from a high perch in early spring or even late winter often in strong winds, hence its country name ‘Storm Cock’.