Nature Journaling and Virginia Master Naturalist

Backyard Birds (1-8) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

The past few months, every Wednesday and a couple of weekends each month were taken up with classes or field trips. Three days ago-Tuesday was graduation and now I am a member of Virginia Master Naturalist - Pennisula Chapter :) I loved every minute of the course learning about Virginia's rich and varied natural wealth. 

One of the requirements was to keep a nature journal.  After a class on local birds, when I decided casually for that week's entry in the journal, to sketch the birds I see in my backyard, I was in for a big eye-opener.  I thought there would a dozen or so birds that visit or live in my backyard as I had never really kept count until then. But as I started watching more closely, and listing them, I was pleasantly surprised! I pulled out the binoculars and my bird book and was excited to see the variety as I identified them one by one.  It took me a more than a couple of weeks to do these quick sketches.  

Backyard Birds (9-12) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

I stared to see the difference between different finches and warblers; sparrows and Carolina wrens; Barn swallows and Purple Martins; the many different gulls, Vultures and even crows!  So many 'black' birds - starlings, Ravens, crows, blackbirds, Purple martins, cowbirds,  orioles, even an Eastern King Bird! 

Backyard Birds (13-18) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

I am beginning to recognize the different bird calls - but that is proving to be harder than I thought! It has been great fun to discover the wealth of information available on line to help with that.  

Backyard Birds (19-24) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao

I used color pencils and graphite to sketch these as the paper in the journal was too thin for watercolors.  I had decided to use the journals we were given at the start of the class - I had to spray the drawing with  a coating of Krylon clear varnish to fix the graphite and color pencils to keep the sketches from smudging and paper from curling.

Backyard Birds (25-30) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

There are a few other varieties of ducks other than mallards that visit the river but those will have to wait! I saw on the iBird page for our area that there are about a hundred more varieties/species that have been seen and identified.  I am excited to watch and learn more about all these birds :)

Backyard Birds (31-36) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

There is always so much drama that is going on with the backyard birds. And now the butterflies and dragonflies are out flitting around :)