stitch58 Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 24 minutes ago, Connor Cochrane said: @GracesWarbler You are also welcome to use some of my pictures if needed. I do have photos of most birds of the southwest, though I haven't seen some species in awhile and I know I could definitely improve on some photos of those birds. I wish . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestranger Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 Sorry @GracesWarbler, Southwestern Ontario is as far southwest as my camera has traveled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, GracesWarbler said: To save a little time, have any of you taken photos of birds in the southwest U.S.? I have not birded in the southwest, but I do have photos of birds that live there (Ruby-crowned Kinglet is one of them). https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/156211941 https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdnuts/ Edited July 15, 2022 by The Bird Nuts 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor Cochrane Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 Here are some links to some of my better photos of some harder to photograph southwestern species Roadrunner: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/158356481 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/443123001 Scaled Quail: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/158355581 Vermillion Flycatcher https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/347988221 Phainopepla https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/312778931 Elf Owl (not good, but don't know if anyone else here has any photos of them) https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/158358341 I have photos of most southwestern species, so if you are looking for any in particular, just check my ebird. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 17, 2022 Author Share Posted July 17, 2022 Thanks for the offers for bird pictures! I'll probably reach out to people individually before using any. I made a post on Facebook about iconic southwest birds, and the most popular suggestions were Roadrunner, Cactus Wren, Elegant Trogon, Vermilion Flycatcher, Gila Woodpecker, Phainopepla, Curve-billed Thrasher, Hummingbirds, Verdin, Gambel’s Quail, and Harris Hawk. Here's a new illustration! It's a pair of Curve-billed Thrashers making a nest in a cactus in Gilbert, AZ. It was fun to watch these two work on their nest. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirVive Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 My one suggestion is to have thumbnails of all the pictures colored as a reference - maybe on the back cover. I find them really helpful for a non-skilled artist. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Clem Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 (edited) I like the hand drawing idea. Of course you would be up against the computer software folks who can crank these out by the bucket loads. Not meaning to discourage you at all. Here is one I did in my photo editor (PhotoScape X). It probably looks a little too busy for a coloring book but it only takes about 5 minutes to complete. Edited July 18, 2022 by Chris Clem 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 Thanks for the tip about software, @Chris Clem. I'm vaguely aware of that approach, but I've been enjoying doing the illustrations. It's neat to take a closer look at, for example, the tiny feathers around Verdin eyes or the surprisingly long claws that many birds have. (Plus, I think the drawing adds a nice personal touch.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 20, 2022 Author Share Posted July 20, 2022 What's that in the shrubbery? Why, it's a Verdin! Look at that bright yellow head! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 21, 2022 Author Share Posted July 21, 2022 Okay folks, a question: what fun/interesting facts would you like to find in a bird coloring book? I'd like to add little bits of information, either related to birds in general or birds of the southwest. On the back of each page, I'm planning to put the bird name (so you can try to ID each picture first), along with a short, interesting description of the bird, and finally a basic description of its colors. I also plan to have a few dedicated pages about beaks, feet, feathers, and perhaps a couple more. What fun bird facts come to mind? On 7/17/2022 at 8:59 PM, SirVive said: My one suggestion is to have thumbnails of all the pictures colored as a reference - maybe on the back cover. I find them really helpful for a non-skilled artist. Thanks for the suggestion. I like the idea, but I also don't want people to feel like they have to match the photo. Coloring should be fun, and using a bit of imagination might be nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birds are cool Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 16 hours ago, GracesWarbler said: Okay folks, a question: what fun/interesting facts would you like to find in a bird coloring book? I'd like to add little bits of information, either related to birds in general or birds of the southwest. On the back of each page, I'm planning to put the bird name (so you can try to ID each picture first), along with a short, interesting description of the bird, and finally a basic description of its colors. I also plan to have a few dedicated pages about beaks, feet, feathers, and perhaps a couple more. What fun bird facts come to mind? Thanks for the suggestion. I like the idea, but I also don't want people to feel like they have to match the photo. Coloring should be fun, and using a bit of imagination might be nice. Habitat, the birds habits, range. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 22, 2022 Author Share Posted July 22, 2022 A Great Blue Heron! I should find some pictures of birds in flight. So far, none of my illustrations have shown flying birds. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 Here's another topic page. Similar to the one with beaks, this one will have text about bird feet and claws. I'll do a third one about feathers. Anyone recognize this bird? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stitch58 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Blue-footed Booby? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 23 minutes ago, stitch58 said: Blue-footed Booby? I wish! That would be a lot better for a coloring book. This is a bird in the southwest U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestranger Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 No, but I'm willing to embarrass myself with a guess. American Pelican? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirVive Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 9 hours ago, GracesWarbler said: Here's another topic page. Similar to the one with beaks, this one will have text about bird feet and claws. I'll do a third one about feathers. Anyone recognize this bird? Looks like a dinosaur to me ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 5 hours ago, lonestranger said: No, but I'm willing to embarrass myself with a guess. American Pelican? I saw pelicans at the same place, but this is another big water bird. 4 hours ago, SirVive said: Looks like a dinosaur to me ? Haha, right enough! This one will be another topic page, focusing on feathers. Unlike the last one, this one should actually be colorful. (It's the only type of wild parrot I've seen in the southwest.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 24, 2022 Author Share Posted July 24, 2022 It's an Anna's Hummingbird! Thanks to @Colton Vfor help with the ID. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Here's a House Finch in the snow! Most of the Southwest U.S. is hot and dry, but we sometimes get snow in places too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted July 30, 2022 Author Share Posted July 30, 2022 One of the more popular suggestions for iconic southwest birds: a Gila Woodpecker. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 I redid two of the early ones to make them a bit better: a Black-crowned Night Heron and a Red-winged Blackbird! I'm looking for pictures of some iconic southwest birds: Roadrunner, Cactus Wren, Elegant Trogon, Vermilion Flycatcher, and Phainopepla. Anyone have photos of these that I could trace for the book? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyonabird Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 You are welcome to use any of my photos. They are mainly from the Eastern US. https://flic.kr/ps/3gxxst Good luck with your project Denise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GracesWarbler Posted August 4, 2022 Author Share Posted August 4, 2022 On 8/2/2022 at 6:18 AM, Spyonabird said: You are welcome to use any of my photos. They are mainly from the Eastern US. https://flic.kr/ps/3gxxst Good luck with your project Denise Cool, thanks! I'll check it out. Here's two little drawings. I want to have some small drawings for the title page and the final page. I think the Northern Rough-winged Swallow below looks a bit annoyed. I might try to fix that. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan B Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 (edited) @GracesWarbler I have quite a few good photos of both Phainopepla and Vermillion Flycatchers you can use. I also have photos of lots of other birds found in the southwest you as well. https://media.ebird.org/catalog?userId=USER580646&mediaType=photo&sort=rating_rank_desc Edited August 4, 2022 by Aidan B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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