Afternoon at Upton Warren

This has been my first completely empty weekend for what feels like months (yay for study breaks) so yesterday I decided to take a trip to somewhere I don't get a chance to go to very often, Upton Warren nature reserve near Bromsgrove. In fact I was trying to remember, and I think I've only been there once before - to see a Red-necked Phalarope with Pete the Snipe of Sandwell Valley fame a couple of years ago (good times). It takes a while to get to if you don't drive (a 50 minute bus journey to be exact) but the buses are pretty frequent, I would like to try and make the effort to go there more really.

It was fairly quiet bird-wise during my visit but I enjoyed wandering around nonetheless, it kind of made it easier to do some drawings without getting distracted by too much exciting bird action! There weren't many people around either and I had the hides mostly to myself which made me feel less self-conscious about drawing. Still, my efforts are rather on the tentative side, it will take a lot more practice to develop my confidence in drawing from life.

Sketches of Blue Tit, Great Tit and Curlew.

The Blue Tits were visiting the feeders viewable from one of the hides, they were good and close but move so quickly, I struggled to capture them with any success! My favourite of the drawings above though is the front 'head-on' view. That Great Tit is all over the place though, don't know what is going on there!

Blue Tit at the feeders.

The Curlews were a lot more stationary and thus a bit easier to sketch.

Curlews and friends.

I had been intending to visit the Moors Pools too after wandering round the Flashes, but a combination of advancing hours and the arrival of some fairly heavy rain made my mind up for me, and fortunately the bus arrived at the bus stop a couple of minutes after I did, result!

The Flashes.

Next time I will definitely make it to the Moors Pools too!