Another great session from the Wild Life Drawing team. We joined the Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland to draw the resident Puffins, those that are unable to be released, and heard about the conservation and rescue operations that the sanctuary delivers to protect these iconic little birds.
There were about 12 in the enclosure, which had a large pool and a range of enrichment features such as pipe ‘burrows’, astroturf and rocks to stimulate the birds’ natural instincts. Issues ranged from defective preen glands, loss of an eye, broken wings and various other maladies but the birds were happy and healthy and trotted around while we enjoyed hearing about their characters.
There are a number of threats to puffin species worldwide, and they are the same as those affecting all our marine wildlife: pollution, loss of habitat, reduced fish stocks and changing climate. These Atlantic Puffins have a wide range, breeding in many coastal spots along the UK as well as Canada and the US. They return to the Arctic during the winter to bob around on the surface; they are stocky, plucky little birds and seem just as adorable in the flesh as their many images suggest.
I used some gouache this time as I wanted to capture the coloured beaks, although the juveniles and the moulted adults were sporting a much more muted look.
I am running some Zooms on how to draw British birds over the next few months – check out my webpage on the main menu.
