I thought I'd give you a break from ducklings, although I just took my Nikon down there and took a whack of new cute photos! Soon, grasshoppers, soon.
I am working on a brochure about bats for our local stewardship council. Gordon is running a bat house project for them, and wrote the copy for the brochure, which I am woefully behind on. Lucky I have an understanding "boss!" I'm finally getting it together and doing the bat drawings for it. Unfortunately, I don't have my own photos or live bats to draw from, so I collected various photos of each species and am trying not to copy anything directly! Here are a few pencil drawings.
I think bats are almost as cute as ducklings! And bats and ducks are both great insect-eaters.
These are all pencil drawings. I'm going to design a two- or three-colour brochure and have one more bat to draw, plus a few other illustrations. This is what I call a fun and satisfying design job!
We had a small colony of these living in our barn this summer.
These cute winged teddy bears live in the pine wood plantation next to our house! We identified hoary bats near our house with an ultrasound detector last June.
Little brown bat, quite common in Ontario.
To learn more about bats, visit Bat Conservation International. I get a membership every year, which includes a subscription to their quarterly Bats magazine.
WOW! I feel like they are pinging/chirping/flapping right next to me! Outstanding.
ReplyDeleteg
I grew up with little brown bats living inside out chimney. Bats are definitely cool!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sketches of the bats although I'm gettin' the willies!
ReplyDeleteHey Knat...
ReplyDeleteYou said that Little Brown Bats were common in Ontario. Unfortunately, white nose syndrome was discovered in Ontario last year.
Fingers crossed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nose_syndrome
Nope, can't agree with you - ducklings are cute, bats are NOT. I know they are very useful, but they are the one animal that make the hair on my neck stand up - don't know why.
ReplyDeleteNice drawings though!
These drawings are wonderful and what a great subject. I have always liked bats. Peter had one living in his studio one summer. Every evening it would wake up, fly one lap around inside the studio and then out the door to go hunting. We would watch, fascinated.
ReplyDeleteI love the close-up of the bat. I had no idea their ears were such a complicated shape. We have bats that live in an old barn across the road. They like to fly above the road at night-good air currents maybe?
ReplyDeleteGorgeous detail - and somehow you make bats seem attractive. Looking at these drawings gives me that same humbling and grateful feeling that I get when I hear a great singing voice. I'll never draw or sing well, but I sure enjoy the talents of those who do.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, Natalie.
Nat, you are an AMAZING artist!!! Gorgeous pictures. Breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteI love bats, we have a few that fly around in the evenings. More bats = less bugs = good!
~Lynn
Aww batties! I love bats but we rarely see them In Romford
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gordon!
ReplyDeleteWandering Cat (or should i call you Wandering Bat?) that's very cool.
Paula, they are good little bats and won't bother you at all. :)
HWB, I'm been keeping track of white nose syndrome. We had a hard time finding any little brown bats with the ultrasound locator in June. :(
Oh, Musical Gardener, how can you not love their furry fanged little faces? Hahahaha!
Evlyn, thank you and I like the story about Peter's studio bat.
Jenny, bats have some really whacky-looking ears!! I've been looking at lots of pics and am surprised by the variety of ears.
Lynn, thank you ! And you need some Muscovy ducks for bug control. Let me send you a couple! ;)
Jams, sounds like you have enough PEOPLE in Romford who are bats!! ;)
CogDis, you make me blush. Thank you!!
Be very careful with bats, Knattie. They are easily the number one cause of rabies cases in N. America. Never handle a wild bat even if it's dead or injured and immediately report a bat bite to the the ER.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little serious since my dog died of rabies when I was a kid. Nothing to fool around with!