I have always been able to conjure up copy for the birdwatching logbooks as I know our British birds so well, having been a birds and wildlife enthusiast for as long as I can remember. I am researching the birds for the Mogollon Wildway project and realising how much there is to learn when so much absorbed knowledge and familiarity is taken for granted with our local flora and fauna. I’m not only learning about them but also having to remember that elements I find noteworthy or remarkable probably won’t be to the average American birder. For instance, there are birds which migrate not only north south but also vertically, from low to high elevations to breed. We don’t have anything approaching the kind of landscape that they do so I have to see it through different eyes and write authoritatively about habitats that are very different from Britain. I am also learning about the trees (ponderosa and pinyon pines) where birds live, and foods they eat (gophers, stinkbugs, serviceberries) which is making this really quite an expansive project.
The logbook has also been organised in the standard format according to the American Ornithological Society’s checklist so it will tie in with any more comprehensive publications people might want to progress to – after all, the purpose is to pique interest and introduce people to this area and hopefully will encourage them to pursue it further.
As I’m getting to know the birds, I’m realising my initial illustrations are not necessarily representative. I had to do some paintings to I could get sample pages over to the client and most are still fine, but as I’m getting to know the birds I’m understanding what features need to be presented as the illustrations need to convey as much information as possible in an inch-diameter picture. This is further complicated by some details simply not showing up, or the finished image coming out slightly darker or lighter to the painting; daylight is very different to the harsh light of a scanner and there’s only so much tickling I can do in Photoshop.
So, I have repainted the Mexican spotted owl, canyon towhee, pygmy nuthatch and canyon wren (clockwise, below), and we also swapped the berylline hummingbird for the black-chinned variety. I am really enjoying it though and doing my best not to rush through this bit so I can savour it. I want to get the first draft over to Jack and the team for their thoughts as I am aware I’m rather out of my comfort zone compared to the South Downs and Rye Harbour logbook titles I have done previously, which were also in collaboration with experts.
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