Garden Birds – Long-tailed Tits

Whilst counting for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch last weekend, I tried to sketch my little visitors as I watched.  A flock of Long-tailed Tits flew in to the feeder, and most of my drawings were of these charismatic little birds – I found it difficult  as they all moved around so quickly!  I wanted to capture their fluffyness, bright eyes  and energetic acrobatics, but mostly I made hurried squiggles to try and get a bird shape and then work from memory, filling in a bit of colour with my conte pencils.

With my mind full of these birds I thought I must add them to my stone  decoration collection.  The first one or two didn’t work out, as the long tails made the birds over-balance, but eventually I managed to get the stone weight at the front enough so they stood without toppling backwards.

The stone decorations are simple  stone pieces inspired by wildlife, and in this case, garden birds – each drawn, cut and finished by hand.