I fell in love with the reference photo for this drawing as soon as I saw it. The huge, open wings of a chaffinch about to land was too good a picture not to draw! As with the other drawings in the garden bird collection, I begun by drawing the wings as they are the most distinguishing aspect of the picture, before moving on to the tail, body and head.
Originally woodland birds, chaffinches are now extremely common to see in a range of habitats such as gardens and parks, to the extent they’re one of the most sighted bird species in UK gardens.
In the autumn a large number of chaffinches from Scandinavia migrate over to the UK, sometimes doubling our chaffinch population. The way to tell the difference is usually that resident chaffinches will be seen on their own or in small flocks, whereas continental birds will be seen in large flocks moving through the countryside.
Fun fact – Chaffinches are known to have regional accents, with slight differences in song depending on where in the country they live.
The original drawing is available to buy at Heart Gallery in Hebden Bridge, hand signed and locally framed in oak.