👀What came to the forefront these past few days was related to the eyes!👀
The day after returning from my get-away to Waterton Lakes National Park, I paid a visit to The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary to see what transpired there over the past week. Within the first thirty minutes after passing through the gate, I saw at close range an Osprey, a Great Blue Heron and the Inglewood Eaglet! While I saw many other sights, it was these three sightings that stood out.
The big yellow eyes of the Osprey were intensely focused on the water!
It was early and I may have disturbed the Great Blue Heron from sleep!
When I pointed my lens in its direction, the eyes then opened!
The best sight of all this morning was seeing the Inglewood Eaglet, right there in front of me, when I walked to the edge of the trail towards the water. This Eaglet hatched around May 9th. I watched it on a weekly basis from the first time I saw the little ball of white fuzz peek about the edge of the nest. I spied it a week ago sitting on a branch a few trees south of where its nest is. This morning it was on my side of the river sitting between the trail and the water. The eyes were focused on the water. I wondered was it learning to fish.
During this visit, I checked out the location where I knew there was a Cedar Waxwing nest. The previous visit before this one, the Mom was sitting on the nest. This time I saw two heads with brightly coloured beaks pointing upward from the nest. I saw an Adult fly in to feed the babies. I was not quick enough to snap shots so was not able to capture reference photos for a painting. I know what I saw with my own two eyes during those few seconds. I closed my eyes and made as crisp a memory as I could. This watercolour painting reflects what I saw. I don't know what the babies were being fed so I just picked a berry to add as the snack.
Full focus has not been paid to July being "World Watercolour Month". I took a few of the daily topics and incorporated them all into one painting. The topics were all about blending colours using various techniques. For this watercolour painting which I completed in about an hour, I combined four separate lessons from four different days. I have missed numerous days' lessons due to time constraints.
The wildflower show was wonderful while I was in Waterton! The colours, the variety and the multitude of flowers were a feast for the eyes. I enjoyed painting this from one of the photos taken while hiking to Summit Lake.
This was my reference photo.
I hope your eyes are getting to feast upon beautiful sights!
I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit with me!
Hello Alexandra,
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful, great captures of the Osprey, Heron and the Eaglet. I love all your paintings too, the waxwings and the wildflowers are favorites. Take care, enjoy your day and the new week ahead.
Yesterday I saw another nest with three baby Cedar Waxwings being fed!
DeleteYour water colours show how accomplished you have become in this medium, even to the thank you note. I especially like the water scene.
ReplyDeleteThank You Helen! I was pleased with how the water scene turned out!
DeleteHi Alexandra – Another fine post and you won’t be surprised to know that my favorite image this time is the Eaglet. I had to go to the online calculator, days between two dates on timeanddate dot com. The time between hatch on my Eaglets was appx. 85 days. If we take hatch as May 9, your Eaglet is at appx 73 days. That would be a very early fledge, but definitely possible. I’m guessing your Eaglet hatched closer to May 1. As we see it sitting by the water, I’ve got to wonder when it fledged. Would be great, if you have the time, to stop by again soon and maybe you’d get lucky and see it hunting! Lastly, as always, I sure enjoyed your art. Thanks for sharing and have good days ahead. John
ReplyDeleteI am going with your timeline on the Inglewood Eaglet! I reviewed my photos from my May 2nd visit, which I did not post about. There is obvious activity that would suggest the Adult is attending to an Eaglet even though I did not see one. The nest is far away and high up so I cannot capture what is low in the nest. With regards to when it fledged: somewhere between July 3 and July 9. On July 3rd I saw it branching and my next visit on July 9th it was sitting on a branch a few trees away from the nest.
DeleteAs usual amazing photos and watercolours! My fav of course is the upclose of the eaglet…they certainly grow very fast. ❤️Norma
ReplyDeleteA guy saw the Eaglet sitting on the bench shortly after I saw it. He said it was sitting on the bench looking at the water.
DeleteWhat a treat to be able to see these birds up close, and beautiful artwork!
ReplyDeleteThat was the closest I ever was to an Eaglet or even any Eagle! I don't know if it knows yet it should fly away when people come close by.
DeleteOh Alexandra, what incredible sightings! And fantastic photos.I love your watercolors, especially the birds (a memory of the heart, now on paper!) and how you got the lighting on the beach stones. Those flowers are wonderful too! Much joy in this post!
ReplyDeleteI went back to see if I could see the Cedar Waxwing babies being fed again but they had already fledged.
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