A new year and a false spring in full swing

With the New year in full swing and my wildlife sketch book filling up quickly I have decided to get going with the blog again.  My focus over the Winter months changes from my summer favorites like filming, photographing wildlife and enjoying the outdoors, so from December to February I like to patrol and keep an eye on areas where wildlife is vulnerable to a few local Sport Hunters and people who like to go out commit wildlife crimes. With Spring and the longer days of spring in sight thanks to this Winters milder temperatures. I think Spring 2016 will arrive earlier than before as I have seen a few very early signs on my local patch thanks to the frost less December.

I have noticed the local Swans paring up and beginning to show nesting behavior with the female picking up reeds and placing them in a pile while the male chatters next to her as if to say it's abit early for that.

While taking and a wander through a local woodland I found that on one of the ponds the reeds and vegetation was growing quite quickly. Normally they start growing at the end of winter usually early March which coincides with the first Frog spawn of the year. I am thinking that we could see Frog spawn in the nest month or 2.

With the signs above showing an early spring my thoughts of days by the sea and in the mountains are at the though of my mind.

Thank you and stay wild

Mike Mottram

A few more drawings from the Diaries of a Cheshire wildlife watcher sketch book

Hunters and there twisting of information?!?!?

I can't believe it's that time of year again and it seems even warmer than last Christmas. With all this rain and the rivers rising it seems the Otters are continuing there tradition of moving to the canals to hunt. As there are less canal boat holiday makers and people walking the Tow paths the Otters have it to themselves until the hunters arrive with there packs of dogs and shot guns to kill game birds in the area which I don't think they do safely on my local patch. I read one article that these countryside fools wrote and it seems they twist the evidence to allow them to hunt certain birds like the Woodcock. Apparently Woodcocks in the UK are not doing to well therefore you think they should not be allowed to be shot until there population recovers to a healthy level, not that I believe there is any reason why they should be allowed or see any point to killing any birds.
The article clearly tried to state that if hunters keep shooting Woodcocks then the Woodcock population would not be affected?!?! which is down right stupid to me and almost foolish to think this makes any sense. So to explain it simpler if I had 100 Elephants and 10 were killed then the amount of Elephants I have left would be unaffected. If you go by the logic of the Game and Wildlife Trust then I would still have a 100 Elephants even though I clearly have 90 Elephants left. I think I have proven what I mean by some hunters and associations within the hunting field in the UK twisting information collected by the BTO and RSPB to meet there own needs and allow them to hunt whatever bird they want. 
The article is here if your interested http://www.gwct.org.uk/policy/position-statements/shooting-woodcock/

Well I have had my rant for today so here's my finished Golden Eagle profile. I have added my next subject which is a Short Eared Owl, I hope you like them and my other drawings, one day I hope to get them printed onto various products which you can then buy through my online shop. For now I am just enjoying drawing wildlife again and fingers crossed it won't be to long till I feel that my skills as a wildlife artist are something worth selling.

Thank you and stay wild

Mike Mottram

Golden Eagle drawing

One of my latest drawings from this week. I wanted to draw a Golden Eagle as the feather detail on there head is beautiful and I thought it would be nice to draw a bird that I have never seen before but I hope to see one some day up in the mountainous regions of Scotland.

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Drawing Foxes.......

While walking through the countryside lately I have noticed the smell of Fox getting stronger which means it's getting time for the breeding season. The breeding season lasts from December through to the end February at the latest, then there cubs will be born in the late spring. With Foxes in my head I decided that it was time to have ago at drawing them and I decided to start with a photograph I took this summer then move onto something a little more difficult to draw. In the end I found some inspiration from a fellow wildlife lover from North Wales.

Fox in the hills of Conwy

For my second Fox drawing I decided on drawing from a photographer called Richard Bowler who once looked after and raised a Fox cub to adulthood. While looking after the Fox they gained an amazing relationship with each other also his Dog Maddy became firm friends with the Fox. Richard got some amazing photographs of the pair together which inspired the drawing below.

Rosy the Fox and Maddy the dog "Forever friends"

Below is a link to Richard Bowlers photographs and I'm sure you will agree he has taken some amazing photographs while still having the time to care for our wonderful British wildlife.

https://www.flickr.com/people/richardbowler/

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

More rainy day drawing #wildlifeart

With the rainy days even more apparent I decided to do some more drawing so I decided draw a Swan and it's cygnet for a while and this week I did. It's abit rough but once I learn how to add detail I should improve. I think I have the shape right on most of my drawings but I think I have nailed the cygnets detail perfectly. I am hoping to do lots more drawing over the Winter.

A Waxwing I drew and hopefully they will return this Winter!!!

 A collection of the drawings I have done so far, with all this year I think I'll be drawing more wildlife than photographing it.

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

A passion thought lost.....

When I was about 8 I used to draw the birds in my garden and copy the drawing of animals from around the world from my wildlife books. Over the years my passion and love for drawing was lost as I took to using a camera and camcorder to capture my memory's and the beauty of nature. With the worsening wet weather of Winter approaching I decided to put on a film and pick one of my favorite photographs to draw. I decided to draw from a Mouse photograph I took a few years ago. The Mouse was in my garden and it kept coming out to get food then running off into Ivy to either eat the food or to store for Winter when food is lacking. I quite enjoyed my first go at drawing for the first time in 20 years. The shadings not totally to my liking and the drawings not my best work. Hopefully my skill will grow the more I draw and with that I think my passion for drawing and wildlife art will to.

My second drawing is of a Great crested grebe that I photographed nesting on a local lake. I wanted to try a different style in this drawing and I decided on a Quentin Blake style like the Roald Dahl illustrator.

My last drawing is of a Dragonfly that I drew from a photograph I took a few years ago when it landed on a fence down a country lane by a slow flowing river in the middle of the Summer.

Once I get some artist crayons I will try to add some color to my drawings and hopefully it will be this week. My next drawings will be of a Short Eared Owl, Badger and a Hedgehog as there currently my favorite birds and mammals.

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike