A rare sighting of a great blue heron on campus today led me to get out my sketchbook, binoculars, and watercolors and spend twenty minutes observing. A photo with my long lens would have captured lots of details that others might like, but I think I saw more this way. I’ve never noticed how many colors there are on this bird, or the different kinds of feathers on its breast.

Sketches of a great blue heron, accompanied by handwritten notes and descriptions.