This was the very first bird Randy and I saw together that started our whole birdwatching fascination. He was sitting way up high in a mesquite tree near the Salt River where we had gone camping. We didn't have any bino's at the time, or even a good camera - just a little point-and-shoot. Randy snapped a shot of him and we ooooed and ahhhhed at it when he zoomed in on the viewfinder. We called it "Red Bird" for a long time until we finally dug out an old copy of Sibley's and figured out what he was really called.
I tried to capture the male's deep red breast in my colored pencil drawing, done on vellum, but it's nowhere near as amazing as when you see them out in nature, perched up on a limb against a crystal clear blue sky, fluttering down every now and then to snap up a little bug in the air. They absolutely glow, and the females, which are more pink than red, are beautiful too. Thank you, Valentine, for this picture, and for everything.
What is redder than red? Vermilion ... Wow. You were really able to capture the iridescent quality of the red; I had to turn my monitor down so as not to burn my eyes. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story for Valentine's Day. He would look beautiful on a card.
ReplyDeleteSuzy, great memory! To this day, whenever I see a Vermi I think of the camping trip at the Salt River. Nice drawing, and thanks for making it my Valentine Card. Love it, and love you.
ReplyDeleteRandy
I was browsing through my Google Reader and when this picture came up it took my breath away! If you display your work in your home (and I certainly hope you do!), I hope this one is in the most prominent place!
ReplyDelete