Even a modest garden can provide an abundance of stimulus for the patient artist. An avid bird watcher knows that patience and stillness are the main requirements for successfully observing and photographing these garden gems. But even stillness may not be enough to take a snapshot of nesting Bewick wrens who are on their guard for anything suspicious. To take this shot, Martin Pierce had to hold his iPhone to the side of his head and avert his eyes from the subject.
Photograph by Martin Pierce
A long 400mm lens is also useful and allowed Martin to capture this from a safe distance.
Photograph by Martin Pierce
The bird house was made by Martin 10 years ago, but this is the first time Bewick wrens have turned it into a nest. Possibly the dilapidated nature of the box and debris of leaves and spiders’ webs were exactly the type of décor needed to make a less conspicuous home. As Bewick wrens typically mate for life and return to the same nesting ground Martin is hoping to see the generations that may follow.
While observing and photographing birds is undoubtedly a rewarding past time, they are for Martin an endless source of inspiration.
When I looked back at some of Martin’s old sketch books it came as no surprise to find these quick sketches.
Living in the Hollywood Hills we often see red tail hawks who prey on rodents and lizards which are abundant. The image below shows a red tail hawk carrying a squirrel in its talons and being pestered by a crow.
Date of Original Sketch 1990’s
Here crows are shown in flight and again mobbing a red tail hawk.
Date of Original sketch 1990’s
Bulbuls that are not native to California can now be seen on a regular basis in Hollywood and Martin’s patience paid off recently when he was able to catch this shot.
Photograph by Martin Pierce
While I have not seen any recent additions to his current sketch book he has divulged that a bird may soon make it to his drawing board as a model for a new Netsuke door knob. That said, the blue jay may also be a contender albeit the scale will have to be significantly reduced from the current large door pull.
