102. Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira)

Zino's Petrel looks very similar to Fea's Petrel and it can be virtually impossible to tell them apart. Zino's is slightly smaller, with a less heavy bill and possibly slightly shorter, more rounded wings, although ID features of this little-known species are not well established. It breeds only on six cliff ledges in Madeira, and its population is thought to number just 130 - 160 individuals; as such it is classed as Endangered by the IUCN. Outside of the breeding season, its movements are not well known.

Zino's Petrel, ©Martin Lofgren, used with permission.

Zino's Petrel sketch.

Many thanks to Martin Lofgren for giving his permission for me to use his superb Zino's Petrel image! Fairly pleased with my drawing, again I've made the body a bit on the chunky side, but am happier with the proportions of the wings.

101. Fea's Petrel (Pterodroma feae)

Fea's Petrel breeds in burrows in the Cape Verde, Madeira and Desertas islands, and spends the rest of its time in the Atlantic ocean, mostly towards the eastern side. It can look similar to Cory's or Great Shearwater but is smaller, and can easily be told apart from these by its darker underwings which contrast with its white belly. In good light a subtle 'W' pattern can be seen on its upperwings. The Collins guide informs me that the call of the Fea's Petrel 'seems ideal as background noise in horror movies!' - disappointingly though I wasn't able to find any example of this to listen to online!

Fea's Petrel, ©Alan Wilkinson, used with permission.

Fea's Petrel sketch.

Many thanks to Alan Wilkinson for allowing me to use his excellent Fea's Petrel photograph!

I've made everything a bit chunky, but quite like today's drawing - overall not too shabby.

One hundred drawings!

Today I drew my hundredth bird! So I thought I would reflect briefly on my efforts so far, which I think have certainly been successful in that I have widened my species knowledge somewhat. However I'm not sure my drawing has improved so much though, it still seems rather hit and miss to me and I keep making the same mistakes. As an exercise for getting to know birds it is helpful, but I think if I want to get better at drawing I probably need to draw from life more, wherever I have read or heard advice about depicting birds the same thing is always said, there's no substitute for working from life! I think this would also help me with being less precious, I get a bit obsessed with producing a drawing that looks 'finished' but this doesn't necessarily produce good work or teach me anything useful - in life though, the birds are usually moving around and there's often very little time in which to capture something of them on paper - I find this daunting but at the same time it's a skill that comes with practice, hopefully I will get better at this and will be able to produce more spontaneous, less highly finished but more lively drawings. Unfortunately my circumstances are still the same, and will be for some time to come - working full time and studying - so there is very little free time in which to get out into the field to draw. I do think that the very few drawings I've done in the field show some progression which is good at least!

Incidentally, in the front of the Collins' guide it says there are 713 birds covered in the main section of the guide - so that means that I have now drawn 14% of the birds! Onwards and upwards!

100. Bulwer's Petrel (Bulweria bulwerii)

Bulwer's Petrel is a moderately large petrel with loooong wings and a long tail usually held in a pointed shape, which can help distinguish it from the similarly dark but shorter-tailed Sooty Shearwater. It appears quite slim and small-headed with a shorter, thicker bill than the Shearwaters. It is widespread, breeding on islands in the Pacific and Atlantic including the Azores and Canaries, and wintering on the sea mostly around the tropics but as far north as the seas off Portugal in Europe.

Bulwer's Petrel, ©US FWS, via Wikimedia Commons.

Bulwer's Petrel sketch.

I chose a photo of a Bulwer's Petrel sitting down rather than one in flight to give myself a break from cocking up the proportions of birds in flight, well that was the plan (also there wasn't a huge range of Creative Commons-licensed photos!). I think it's come out slightly better than many of my recent efforts.

99. Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus)

The Sooty Shearwater is very widespread, breeding in the Southern Hemisphere on islands off New Zealand, Chile and Australia, and the Falkland Islands. It winters in the Northern Hemisphere during our summer and can be seen in late summer/early Autumn off UK coasts as it begins its migration back to its breeding grounds. It is very dark, with only its underwings being silvery white. It can be confused with the Balearic Shearwater but as well as its almost entirely dark colouration, it has a much more powerful flight, with longer, more pointed wings and a more athletic build compared to the Balearic Shearwater's pot-bellied appearance.

Sooty Shearwater, ©loarie, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Sooty Shearwater sketch.

Hmmm, not great and I ran out of time to finish. I feel like I'm struggling a bit with the shearwaters, getting everything in proportion in these long-winged birds is proving challenging.

98. Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus)

The Balearic Shearwater is slightly larger than Manx and Yelkouan Shearwaters, and often appears slightly more well-built than these. It is a dusky brown below with no sharp contrast between black and white. As its name suggests it breeds on the Balearic Islands, but outside the breeding season it may occur as far north as southern Norway. It is classed as Critically Endanged by the IUCN due to its tiny breeding range and small population which is in decline.

Balearic Shearwater, ©jvverde, via Flickr Creative Commons.

Balearic Shearwater sketch.

This took me several false starts and it's still pretty rubbish. I blame the fact that I was tired from having it large at a castle in Cheshire on Friday night. Oh well!

97. Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan)

Yelkouan Shearwaters are restricted to the Mediterranean, although their distribution is not well known - they breed on islands and coastal cliffs and spend the winter on the sea. They are very similar in appearance to Manx Shearwaters, but usually don't have the Manx's white crescent behind the eye, are slightly more brownish above, tend to trail their feet out to project beyond their tail-tip, and the white notch behind the wings can be brownish (it's white in Manx), as seen in the photo below.

Yelkouan Shearwater, ©Harold Stiver, used with permission.

Yelkouan Shearwater sketch.

Many thanks to Harold Stiver for allowing me to use his excellent Yelkouan Shearwater photo!