New work and jumping out of my comfort zone!

I recently completed this commission of a beautiful white horse. It was only the second horse I have drawn since starting MMD; the first was a birthday gift for my friend last year. My most common subjects are of the canine variety, with cats coming a close second, but I certainly don't feel that the dogs hold me in a particular comfort zone. Yes I draw a lot of them but they are all different; different breeds, colours, long and short fur etc. etc. so I never consider myself to be drawing the same subject over and over by any means.

Having said that, it was definitely a refreshing change to draw Ollie. I have become very much accustomed to the shape of a dog's face; the direction of the fur around the muzzle; the fold of the ears; the shape of the big pink tongues! Drawing a horse is a whole new experience as they are such a different shape! Most noticeably the long, long face ending in large nostrils and with two eyes very far apart, there are very little similarities between drawing a dog and a horse, perhaps apart from the sparkle in their eyes.

I'm hoping to receive more horse commissions in the future but even better would be rabbits, chickens or even lizards! That would be GREAT fun!

Birding update-the last few weeks!

I've been pretty darn busy these past few weeks! My waiting list for portraits is lengthy so I've been working non-stop on new pieces and barely had time to think about blogging let alone actually doing it! Having said that, I have managed to squeeze some birding in here and there, including a couple of exciting spots (for me anyway!)

I paid a visit to one of my local country parks, Buchan, during April after reading that their female great-crested grebe had finally joined the male there on Douster Pond. I had never seen one before so thought it would be the perfect opportunity to tick another species off my bird list and if I was lucky, catch them doing their infamous mating dance. I wasn't disappointed!

I only caught a small snippet of the dance, but it was enough to see them shaking their heads and swimming away and back in a perfect mirror-image of one another. I was really, really pleased to have seen it. They certainly are beautiful birds, particularly the russet colouring around their heads.

I also enjoyed watching this cormorant busy himself with lots of diving to the bottom of the pond. Trying to catch a photo of him when he kept disappearing was a challenge; I had to try and predict where he would resurface next! Alongside the grebes and cormorant were coots, moorhens with four very new chicks, canada geese, foraging blackbirds and mallards. Buchan had mentioned on their Facebook page that they also had Mandarin ducks on the pond, but sadly I couldn't find these. I wish I had as they are another species I haven't seen before! 

 We've had further visits to our garden from goldfinches this month which I am thrilled about. If only they would invite their friends along; the most I've ever seen is four but usually I'll only spot two on the feeder.

Last month I went on a long walk through the countryside. We followed footpaths we'd never walked before and discovered fields and tracks we never knew were there. Best of all, we heard the first cuckoo of the year, a day before it is traditionally heard! What an unmistakable call; I don't quite know how anyone can possible mistake it for a wood pigeon. I also spotted a blackcap on that walk and plenty of butterflies including orange-tips, small tortoiseshells and peacocks.

The blue tits have officially nested in our new nestbox. I collected fur taken from our cats' brush and some hair dropped by the passing horses on our lane and put it out for the birds; it was extremely popular and was carried away by the tits very quickly. It was wonderful to see them with beaks full of fur and knowing that their nest would be the cosiest in the neighbourhood!

Both the blue tits and the nuthatches have recently started carrying insects into their nests. It's hard to tell the parents apart but after reading up on their nesting habits, I've decided it's a bit too early for their eggs to have hatched (I certainly haven't heard any chicks cheeping) so the food must be from the male feeding the female as she incubates the eggs. I'm greatly anticipating the day when the chicks fledge!

New season, new pond.

During late summer of last year, inspired by the RSPB's "Homes for Nature" campaign, I installed a mini pond in our garden. As we live in a rental property, I wasn't able to commit to a full-size pond (one day I will though! It's one of my dreams) so I used an unused cat litter tray as a base and edged it with rocks. It served well as a small source of water for the birds mainly but aside from a toad I found nearby and some fly and mosquito larvae, it wasn't particularly successful at attracting wildlife.

Last week, we had visitors to the house who were accompanied by some rather energetic young children. Unfortunately these children were rather handsy and I found out after they had left that one of them had picked up the rocks edging the pond and dropped them from a height into the water, cracking the bottom of the tray and draining all the water away. Let me tell you, I would be ten times more angry about this if I'd had any wildlife occupying it! Still, I was a little peeved but it actually have me the perfect opportunity to build a better one from scratch.

I was only able to make the hole slightly wider as there are large tree roots either side which I definitely had no intention of destroying. I extended it further outwards and made a shallow sloping ledge to allow any wildlife to easily get in and out. I also made the center of the hole deeper. 

I included two oxygenating plants; ivy-leafed crowfoot and cotton bud rush. I'm hoping these will not only help to prevent algae from growing but, as they are both flowering plants, they will attract insects. I've also arranged a group of paddlestones around the front to create some hidey holes and piles of pebbles at the deepest part of the pond. 

It looks a lot more pond-like now in comparison to the litter tray version! It will take a few days for the water to naturalise as I didn't have any rainwater to use but once it has, I'm looking forward to seeing if any local critters fancy moving in. At the very least, the birds will be happy to have their drinking/bathing station all spruced up! 

April brings intruders!

The nuthatches have been toiling away non-stop these past few weeks to prepare their nesting hole. I have really loved watching them working so hard and it's now easy to see the result of their work as the hole in the oak tree is visibly 2/3 smaller and dried with mud. I've managed to spot them a few times coming in with beaks of dried leaves which they will be using to line the base of the nest, creating a soft bed for their eggs.

Today I witnessed the reason for all of that hard work closing the hole.

I have to say, this is the first time the jackdaws have visited our back garden. They are quite frequently out on the big front lawn (which actually belongs to the 'big house'; we are a gate lodge) but I've certainly never seen them venture into the back. I guess they've found something interesting enough to tempt them in!

I'm in a bit of a dilemma over this. As far as I know, the nuthatches haven't yet laid their eggs; they were still bringing in leaves and mud yesterday so I'm only assuming this is the case. Once they do, however, I'm sure the jackdaws will be back to stick their beaks in and cause trouble and I really hate the thought that they might actually cause harm to the birds or their eggs. I know it's nature and you shouldn't interfere but it's pretty damn hard when you've watched these birds work hard to build a safe place to nest. I'll be keeping a very sharp eye on the situation.

Photos snapped this morning after refilling the tray with black sunflowers.

In other news, I have seen the blue tits go into the nestbox several times carrying bits of twig and straw in their beaks, so I think I can venture to say that they have started nesting in there-hooray! It's still no guarantee they will actually lay eggs but the signs are all positive so watch this space!

Lodge Hill Nightingales

(Image from BTO-Above from left to right: Maps from the 1968-72, 1988-91 and 2007-11 Breeding Atlases.)

A few days ago, a friend and fellow wildlife-lover sent me a link to an open development plan case being led by the RSPB, Buglife and Kent Wildlife Trust. It's quite a complicated case but I will summarise for you to give you an idea of why I'm feeling outraged:

-There is a MoD site in Kent called Lodge Hill which was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) last year, largely because of the significant and highly important nightingale population there. It neighbours a stretch of ancient woodland, also declared SSSI (in 1984) and hosts a variety of habitats including badger setts, bat roosts and a range of breeding birds. (see Kent Wildlife Trust)

-Medway Council has proposed a plan to build up to 5000 houses on the site. An initial proposal was put forward but due to the SSSI declaration, it was withdrawn. A new plan is in progress and awaiting a final decision. 

- Offsetting the population of nightingales to another suitable habitat was suggested as an option but was "proven unfeasible". 

I have hugely simplified the facts here and believe me, there are many more, but I feel these are the most disturbing. I am putting forward my opinion, that of an amateur naturalist with a limited understanding of the broad subject of nature and habitat. Having said that, why should my opinion be less valued than any others? What I am taking away from this is that a site has been officially declared scientifically valuable yet development on the land is still being pushed. Does the term SSSI have no meaning? 

According to the Natural England website, "SSSIs are the country's very best wildlife and geological sites. They include some of our most spectacular and beautiful habitats...It is essential to conserve our remaining natural heritage for both current and future generations...SSSIs are important as they support plants and animals that find it more difficult to survive in the wider countryside."

This to me sums the situation up entirely. Conservation of natural habitats is essential for preserving our native species. Especially a species such as the nightingales, a bird that is on the amber status list and has seen a significant decline in numbers over the past few decades. The majority of the national nightingale population is found in the South East and Lodge Hill supports 1.3% of this. This beautiful and iconic breed of bird needs all the help it can get and disruption of it's habitat will almost certainly have catastrophic effects. 

It's clear that the need for sensitive handling hasn't been overlooked by the parties involved, evident by the suggestions of offsetting and creation of alternative habitats. However, it isn't the nightingales alone that need to be considered, though they are the most important factor; the several species of bat; numbers of newts, lizards, toads and adders; populations of breeding birds; these are all paramount in the sustainability of this habitat and will be impacted by any form of development on this land. What simply needs to be recognised by the council, MoD and developers is that this particular site is NOT a viable option for building. 

It's situations like this that leave me concerned for the future of nature. So many wonderful organisations work tirelessly to fight on nature's behalf but there are always those on the other side who don't seem to care. Who don't seem to recognise that if we don't do everything we can to protect and preserve the species and habitats we have now, we could lose everything. Sorry to sound melodramatic but it's the truth. 

I plan to email Medway Council in regard to this case and I strongly urge you, lovely reader, to do the same. A large impact of public protest would be amazing. Here is the email address to use (thank you, Kate!) planning.representations@medway.gov.uk and the case is "Lodge Hill, Kent development". 

I'll be interested to see this case develop and will keep you updated.

Nesting and the new kids on the block!

It's all been happening in my garden today! You may remember I recently put up a nest box in our oak tree and have been keeping a watchful eye on it each day. There have been a few blue tits nosing about and showing a little interest and gradually they have been getting closer and closer, peering in through the hole. Today I was lucky enough to see not one but two blue tits enter the box fully. The second in was quickly chased out by the first and then the first went back in. I'm really pleased although this behaviour is no guarantee that any birds will actually nest and lay eggs in there but the signs are certainly promising.

I can't help thinking that the oak tree is beginning to resemble the bird equivalent of a high-rise apartment block, as just a few metres above the best box is a smallish hole in the trunk which the pair of nuthatches have started popping in and out of. Today in particular showed them pecking away at the edge, perhaps to shape and deepen the hole enough for a nest. I mentioned this behaviour to my colleague at Pulborough who have me an interesting fact; nuthatches are the only-or at least one of the only-birds who place mud around the entrance and walls of their nesting cavities. I assumed this is done to insulate the nest but after a little investigation, it would seem they do it to seal up cracks inside the holes, create a smooth pocket for resting their eggs on and create a snug cavity that will be too small to allow any large predators in. I will certainly keep my eyes intently peeled to catch this behaviour live-it would be wonderful to witness!

You would think that, for an amateur birder, that would be plenty of excitement for one day but it didn't end with the nuthatches. I had my regular scan of the garden with the binoculars when some movement caught my eye in one of the closest trees that hangs over from the woods. It took me a while to get a decent look at the two birds that were chasing each other through the branches because they were so fast!! They weren't still for more than a few seconds at a time which made it extremely difficult to ID them, but I knew they were definitely a species I hadn't spotted before. At first I thought they were goldcrests because of their size and speedy movements but there were no bright yellow hair-dos to be seen and they had dark stripes (supercillium) across their eyes. I briefly considered wrens although I could tell the shape just wasn't right and the absence of dark, stripey plumage was confirmation.

These birds were very pale in colour, with light grey/brown upper parts and creamy yellow lower parts, and at the lowest part of the belly, underneath the tail, there was a slightly brighter yellow patch. The trail itself was reasonably long and the beak small and thin. The only other birds that came to mind as potential positive IDs were the chiffchaff and the willow warbler and I know it's tricky to tell the difference between the two. Looking at my various books, plus a little Googling, I am now fairly certain that they were willow warblers. These are actually on the Amber species status list, so if they were warblers, it was fantastic to spot them; I'm even more certain after looking at various photos and video clips of warblers.

These are all positive signs that we will have an exciting season for wildlife in our garden, fingers crossed!

Pet Selfie Competition!

Last Wednesday, I was rather overwhelmed to see that I had reached 2000 likes on my Facebook page. I don't think as much as I used to about numbers on there as it doesn't seem to translate to much, especially since the good people of Facebook are making it more and more difficult for my posts to be noticed and I know I'm not alone in this! Having said that, everything kicked off for me on there, it's where I started out with my bird drawings and then developed into the pet portraits, so I guess I do feel grateful to an extent. Particularly where my loyal followers are concerned, those who have been there from the very beginning and are constantly offering me words of support and encouragement-you're ace!

To celebrate this small milestone, I wanted to do something a bit different from the regular "like and comment" giveaway. I've done a couple of these in the past and had great responses but there isn't much interaction involved really and I thought it would be nice to come up with something that everyone can get involved with and have some fun with. I decided to hold a "Pet Selfie" Competition which is self-explanatory and gives everyone an excuse to indulge in the "selfie" craze! Come on, taking a photo of yourself is fair enough but when you've dragged your unwilling stubborn camera-shy lovely pet into the frame, it becomes 10 times better!

I've had an incredible response so far, with SO many funny and sweet photos sent in to me. My intention is to post them in an album on my page and get my followers to vote for their favourites and I briefly considered creating a short-list of my 10 or so favourites to make things easier, but I just don't think that will be fair. I am quite happy to let you decide for yourselves!

I know from experience with my two felines that taking photos of them is HARD, really, really hard. I'm pretty convinced that Theo in particular is allergic to any form of camera or he just has the uncanny ability to recognise a piece of technology and turn his face the other way the moment my finger hits the shutter button. Cats. It's lucky we love them, eh?!

I can't wait to post the selfies up and see how people react-I couldn't possibly choose one favourite so it's going to be a close call I reckon! (Entries close Wednesday 12th March at 12pm if you'd like to enter. You can find more details on my FB page)