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The Feathered Brush
Painting and Birding 'round the Long Island Sound
by Sean Murtha on 11/8/2012 9:18:56 PM
Twists and Terns 2012, Sean Murtha
I've been busy since my last post. Too busy to blog, but mostly good-busy. There were several important shows, such as Birds in Art and the Society of Animal Artists Annual, both of which I attended. But I have mainly been busy in the studio, with several large pieces in the works. My most recent completion has been one of several inspired by the week last summer that I spent on Great Gull Island (see last post). This ambitious canvas strives to encaspulate as best as I could the spirit of that week, among thousands of nesting terns. It began with [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 8/8/2012 1:47:16 PM
Despite its name, gulls are not welcome on Great Gull Island. When they approach, dozens of terns rise into the air and chase the intruder out, if they can. Great Gull is a tern nesting colony, hosting the largest Common Tern colony in the world, and the largest Roseate Tern colony in the western hemisphere. This remarkable place is at the eastern end of the Long Island Sound, owned and managed by the American Museum of Natural History. For a week this summer my son Brendan and I, along with a few friends, spent time volunteering at Great Gull. Typically we [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 4/6/2012 6:56:49 PM
(*Laruphilia-Love of Gulls)
Many people appreciate birds; even non-birders will gasp at a particularly colorful or unusual bird. But they will hardly notice a common bird such as a "seagull"; they may even dismiss a gull as vermin with feathers. Even some birders will shrug them off as too common to be interesting. But take a closer look- as ordinary as they may seem, gulls are remarkably diverse, and display more intelligence and personality than many household pets. They go through a complicated series of moults depending on age and season, and there are several rare species that present challenging ID puzzles. [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 2/6/2012 6:31:56 PM
Though I have not been getting outside with the pochade box much lately to paint in plein air, I have been sketching birds fairly regularly. Earlier in the season there was so much excitement as new birds began appearing, but at this point the diversity of birds on the coast has leveled off, and I have begun to settle down in one spot to draw. Drawing is, in my mind, the most important skill an artist requires, and it always pays to keep it well-honed. I let it slide a bit with all that mad dashing about looking for birds, and [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 12/16/2011 9:31:14 PM
Harbor Seal Diorama, AMNH
This is that time of the year when we look forward to seeing friends and family we may not have seen in a while, or at least getting in touch with a card. The same is true in the natural world. Every day brings in species we haven't seen since last winter. Here on the edge of the Long Island Sound, it is the time of year for waterfowl- ducks and geese, and also loons and grebes. They've flown south looking for warmer waters, and the Sound is just the place. These are big, often boldly patterned birds, gregarious and fairly [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 11/14/2011 8:01:55 PM
Having had the worst possible view of the Greenwich Pelican last week, I was treated today to a surprise fantastic view. I say surprise because the reports of other observers over the weekend seemed to indicate the possibility that the bird was moving over the border into New York State, possibly heading southwards at last. So when I did my morning reconniassance of Greenwich Point I was not too disappointed when only the usual birds turned up. Sand Island, at the entrance to Greenwich cove, was host to a number of Brant and Ruddy Turnstones, as well as gulls. All usual [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 11/10/2011 9:09:47 PM
It's amazing how easily a bird as large and unusual as a Brown Pelican can elude you! New England is out of its expected range, but every so often there are a smattering of reports of Brown Pelicans in our area. This year was exceptional- right after Hurricane Irene swept through at the tail end of August, there was an exciting week or two of unusual seabirds blown off course in Long Island Sound and even inland, eagerly ticked off by birders covering the shores like a military operation. There were several Pelican reports, but this bird (or birds- I'm not [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 9/12/2011 10:24:16 PM
Photo by Brendan Murtha
The title of this post is birder-speak. The picnic table in question is located at the Patagonia rest-stop in Arizona, where once-upon-a-time the first recorded sighting of a Black-capped Gnatcatcher north of the border occurred. Word got out and birders began appearing in droves (or should I say flocks!), and soon other rare birds began to be discovered. Thus was born the "Patagonia Picnic Table Effect"; the concept that if one good bird brings more birders, even more good birds are likely to be found. I'm not sure why it was in Patagonia, Arizona that this term became coined and popularized, [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 8/18/2011 12:00:51 PM
A little break from the diorama project, which is still going part-time and has slowed to a crawl. Summer has marched on and here we are halfway through August. Things are beginning to pick up bird-wise, as migration has begun and various shorebirds are beginning to appear on our shores and fields after leaving their breeding grounds in the far North. The nesting season is likewise ending in our parts, though young birds can still be seen begging food from their parents. I am fortunate to have in my area a thriving Tern colony, and have paid a visit a few [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 2/27/2011 9:38:42 PM
Sometimes a painting comes together easily, leaving you wishing they all could be that way! One more restrained session was enough to bring this painting to a successful conclusion. It is signed but the title is still an open question. For now I am calling it "Goldeneyes on a Silver Morning", and it is definitely on the short-list for one of the "spring-deadline" shows coming up.
"Goldeneyes on a Silver Morning" 24" x 30", 2011 Sean Murtha
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by Sean Murtha on 2/23/2011 5:17:02 PM
Goldeneye sketches, 1/4/2011, Sean Murtha
Here are some more "in progress" shots of what's on the easel. It is fairly close to completion, at which point it will be better photographed. Like the Eider painting posted a few weeks ago, it also depicts wintering ducks on the Long Island Sound, but the mood is nearly the complete opposite. Here on the Western end of the Sound, there can frequently be days when there is scarcely a ripple, when every bird on the water is clearly visible and crisply outlined like a field guide illustration. These ducks are Common Goldeneye, going through their seasonal courtship rituals. The [...]
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by Sean Murtha on 1/6/2011 5:26:19 PM
This Winter there has been a marked increase in the number of Razorbills reported on the Long Island Sound. I had a distant but extended view of one on January 5th, from Tods Point in Old Greenwich, CT. I was scanning the horizon with my scope, looking for distant Loons and rafts of Goldeneye and Long-Tailed Ducks, when a small black-and-white bird appeared in my field of view, flying with rapid wingbeats. Coming toward me, it could have been a duck, but as it neared it also veered northwards, and in side view it was unmistakably an Alcid. The heavy, blunt [...]
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