Bermuda Longtails & Coral Cliffs

Here is a sunset scene on Bermuda's south shore. To the right are coral cliffs filled with crevices. In these crevices, the Bermuda Longtails make their nests in spring. This is a springtime painting. I was fortunate to be in Bermuda when the longtails were nesting in April. At this time of year - October - the longtails are far out at sea. They will not come back to shore in Bermuda until next March.
In this painting, a pair of longtails swoop and glide as the sun sets before they retire for the night in their nesting spots somewhere among the coral cliffs of Bermuda.

THIS PAINTING IS #59 OF THE ZEH BERMUDA COLLECTION

Pink Hydrangea

Some of my favorite hydrangeas are the big-leaved French hydrangeas like this one which bloom in a range of colors - pink, blue, purple. Depending on the soil ph, you can change the color of the bloom. This is a particularly lovely deep pink with touches of yellow near the center.

• This painting has been sold.

Spicebush Swallowtail & Hydrangea

This black butterfly with the bright red, white and blue spots is so lovely, I had to paint it again - on my hydrangeas. It seemed to love these flowers when they were in full bloom. Now, with autumn here, the hydrangea flowers have turned dark pink, and the swallowtails are. But I will look forward to seeing them again next year!

Wood Thrush

It's early October before the first frost. The wood thrushes, which are one of the most common woodland birds of the eastern US, will soon be on their way to Panama if they have not already started. Because there has not been a frost yet the woodland scene is still green with ferns even as the maples turn golden and red. I have recently seen Indian Pipes, an interesting white plant with no chlorophyll. They are a rare sight found in the moist, dark undergrowth of the forest. In this painting, a wood thrush searches the forest floor for insects on a warm day in early autumn as Indian Pipes bloom nearby.
Here are some interesting facts about this bird:
This is a large thrush just a bit smaller than the American Robin.
It has a beautiful haunting yodeling song that rings through the woodlands with a flutelike sound. In fact, their vocal song box allows them to sing more than one note at once making it possible for them to harmonize with their own song! This is perhaps the reason the song is so hauntingly lovely.
This bird is seldom seen outside the deep woods. I do not see them much, but I hear their song at times coming from the woodlands surrounding my home.
Sadly, their populations are declining possibly due to deforestation in their winter habitat in Central America.
Cowbirds often lay eggs in wood thrushes nests which also keeps their population down as the baby cowbirds will sometimes push the thrushlings out of the nest.
Wood thrushes have been seen to practice "anting" which means they pick up an ant and rub it on their feathers. It is guessed that the ants secrete an oil that is useful for the birds.

• This painting has been sold.

Great Blue Heron in Flight

Nothing gives me a thrill quite like the sight of a Great Blue Heron suddenly rising up nearby from where it's been hiding in the tall grasses. Slowly it flaps its enormous wings and takes to the air. In this painting, I've shown a pond full of waterlilies at the nearby Nature Preserve where I've seen this often. Whenever I go there for the mile walk around the pond, I have a sharp eye out for one of these magnificent birds. If I'm lucky, I'll see one across the pond or even close by. I hear that in Florida, by the fishing docks, these birds are quite accustomed to people, but up here in New England, they are wild. They never let anyone get too close!

• This painting has been sold.