With its striking, vibrant “daffodil” yellow undercarriage the grey wagtail is really not such a grey bird. In the September sunshine this one made a very pretty picture posing on the remains of the old weather-worn jetty posts which were splashed with matching yellow lichen.
The strutting bird at the bottom of the sketch was seen in March busily chasing insects in the enormous freshwater puddle formed from the run off of the 3 overflow sluices in the sea wall on Portishead marsh. With so much rain in recent months this seasonal waterhole was a welcome feeding spot for both pied and grey wagtails.
I love the simple shapes, the limited colour palette and the contrast between the horizontal and vertical lines.
Sketch notes
Sketched on Bockingford NOT paper with a 2B pencil and watercolours.
Yellow “daffodil” feathers were painted with cadmium yellow and winsor yellow.
Greys of wagtail and jetty were a mix of yellow ochre, alizarin crimson and cerulean.
Useful link
For more about the grey wagtail visit the RSPB website at: www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/greywagtail/index.aspx
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