Copper Catkin
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • MARKETS
  • Consulting
  • Contact
  • About

The art and craft chez Copper Catkin, part 3

12/4/2019

2 Comments

 

​Maker-made home decor

​We love to fill our home with art, craft, and decorations made by local makers.
We continue our tour of the house, which started with the art and craft chez Copper Catkin part 1, and continued in part 2.

Read More
2 Comments

The art and craft chez Copper Catkin, part 2

11/25/2019

1 Comment

 

​Maker-made home decor

We love to fill our home with art, craft, and decorations made by local makers. We invite you to join us for a walk around our place, having a look at the pieces that aren't currently packed away.
READ PART ONE

Read More
1 Comment

Hoiho - bird of the year

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

The conclusion of the bird a day challenge

So we have worked our way through the 23 most endangered species of native birds in New Zealand, and, as I discussed initially, I will then turn them into a 24-bird design, to echo the concept of an advent calendar - but here, we are documenting the advent of their extinction. 
Picture
Picture

​A bird a day #24 - winner of Bird of the Year 2019

​Choosing a 24th bird ended up being easy - I was concerned for a while that the winner might be a bird that I had already drawn, and I had no desire to start on the next section of the DOC list, as that would pretty much force me to keep going until I had finished them all. And birds are great, but I need a break.

Luckily for me, the winner of the 2019 Bird of the Year competition is the Hoiho (Yellow-eyed penguin). I haven't drawn a penguin yet, so that's an added bonus. 
Picture
Yellow-eyed penguin. Adult standing showing wing 'flippers'. Otago Peninsula, January 2006. Image © Craig McKenzie by Craig McKenzie
Picture
Yellow-eyed penguin. Adult, surfing in to land on the beach. Katiki Point, Otago, June 2016. Image © Kathy Reid by Kathy Reid
One really important thing to mention is that, even though the Hoiho are not actually in any of the three lists on the DOC endangered species page, that's actually an indicator of how very endangered the listed species are - because with a conservation status of "in serious trouble", Yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) are disappearing before our eyes. They are one of the rarest penguins in the world with just 1,700 pairs remaining. 

If nothing is done to reverse current declines, scientists predict they could be extinct on mainland New Zealand within 10 - 20 years.
Source:
Bird of the Year

Description

A tall, portly penguin with a pale yellow band of feathers that runs from each yellow eye around the nape, a long straight red-brown and pale cream bill, and pink and black feet. The rest of the head, neck and dorsal surface is slate blue; the breast and belly white down to the feet.
Source:
NZ Birds online
Picture
Yellow-eyed penguin. Adult head in profile showing yellow eye. Otago Peninsula, April 2011. Image © Jenny Atkins by Jenny Atkins www.jennifer-m-pics.ifp3.com
Picture
Yellow-eyed penguin. Front view of adult head. Catlins, Hinahina Forest, October 2006. Image © Cheryl Pullar by Cheryl Pullar
Picture
Yellow-eyed penguin. Adult moulting. Otago Peninsula, April 2011. Image © Jenny Atkins by Jenny Atkins www.jennifer-m-pics.ifp3.com
Picture
Yellow-eyed penguin. Adult pair showing dorsal surface of wing 'flippers'. Ruapuke Island, Foveaux Strait, December 2012. Image © Colin Miskelly by Colin Miskelly

Drawing the hoiho

Very fast sketches of the underlying structure.
Picture
This chonky boi Hoiho is channeling Lizzo - all attitude and rocking that thicc body. Love it.
Picture
Picture
Picture
The Hoiho has a lot of its own colours - more than expected when you just look at it. The beak and the eyes are actually quite complex. I have, of course, simplified the lines and the colours to fit my style.
Picture
And that's the lot! 24 birds, in slightly more than 24 business days. What a ride! What was your favourite?
Picture
0 Comments

A bird a day - a summary

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 
Over the last few weeks, I have drawn a whopping 23 birds, drawing one (almost) every weekday.
Here is a summary of all of those birds - click on the links below to visit the relevant blog posts.
  1. Antipodean wandering albatross/toroa
  2. Australasian bittern/matuku-hūrepo
  3. Chatham Island black robin
  4. Black stilt/kakī
  5. Black-billed gull/tarāpuka
  6. Chatham Island oystercatcher/tōrea tai
  7. Chatham Island shag
  8. Chatham Island tāiko
  9. Gibson’s wandering albatross/toroa
  10. Grey duck/pārera
  11. Haast tokoeka
  12. Kākāpō
  13. Kermadec white-faced storm petrel
  14. New Zealand fairy tern/tara iti
  15. Orange-fronted parakeet/kākāriki karaka
  16. Pacific white tern 
  17. Pitt Island shag
  18. Rock wren/pīwauwau
  19. Salvin’s albatross/toroa
  20. Shore plover/tuturuatu
  21. South Georgian diving petrel
  22. Southern New Zealand dotterel/tūturiwhatu
  23. White heron/kōtuku
Picture
Picture
Only one design left - the winner of the Forest & Bird Bird of the Year 2019, ​the Hoiho, or Yellow-eyed penguin. Keep your eyes peeled for that article, and the designs that I make from these drawings!

EDITED TO ADD:
Find the Hoiho post here!
0 Comments

White heron or kōtuku - a bird a day

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

​The kōtuku

The kōtuku is common in Australia, the South Pacific and Asia.

In New Zealand it only breeds near Whataroa, South Westland, between September and January. This colony is in the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve and guided jet boat tours take visitors to view the birds from an observation hide.

Source:
DOC

The white heron or kotuku is well-loved by the New Zealand people, but it is rarely seen except by those who specifically seek it out. Its sole New Zealand breeding site near Okarito Lagoon in Westland is well-known and well-protected, but elsewhere it is 'He kotuku rerenga tahi' or the bird of single flight, implying something seen perhaps once in a lifetime. When seen in close proximity it is a magnificent bird, with its large size and clean white plumage.
Source:
NZ birds online

Read More
0 Comments

Southern New Zealand dotterel or tūturiwhatu - a bird a day

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

Where will you see the NZ dotterel?

​The New Zealand dotterel is a familiar bird of sandy east coast beaches in the northern North Island, but is sparsely distributed around much of the rest of the country. There are two widely separated subspecies: the northern New Zealand dotterel is more numerous, and breeds around the North Island; the southern New Zealand dotterel was formerly widespread in the South Island, and now breeds only on Stewart Island. Southern New Zealand dotterels are larger, heavier, and darker than northern New Zealand dotterels.
Source:
NZ birds online

Read More
0 Comments

South Georgian diving petrel - a bird a day

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

A unique NZ species - ​Whenua Hou diving petrel

While both DOC and NZ birds online refer to the South Georgian diving petrel, Wikipedia differentiates between the South Georgian species and a new species, the Whenua Hou diving petrel.
Picture
Study skins of Pelecanoides georgicus from different populations (Johannes H. Fischer).

Read More
0 Comments

Shore plover or tuturuatu - a bird a day

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

Where can we find them?

Picture
Shore plover. 14 birds in flight. Plimmerton, Porirua City, June 2011. Image © Ian Armitage by Ian Armitage
Picture
Shore plover. Day old chick. Mana Island, November 2009. Image © Peter Reese by Peter Reese
The former range of shore plover is poorly known. They were first sighted in Dusky and Queen Charlotte Sounds on Cook’s second voyage, and at mudflats and sandspits around the North Island in the early 1800s. 

By the 1870s. cats and Norways rats caused the shore plover to vanish from mainland coasts.

For more than 100 years, Rangatira in the Chatham Islands had the only known population of around 120 birds. The current (2017) wild population is around 240 birds, more than half of which are in the Chatham Islands.

Today, Auckland’s Motutapu Island is the easiest place to see shore plover.

They are also found on Rangatira and Mangere Islands in the Chatham Islands, and Waikawa Island in Hawke’s Bay – all of which have restricted access.

Source:
DOC

Read More
0 Comments

Salvin’s albatross or toroa - a bird a day

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

The Salvin's mollymawk

​I have already drawn two other birds referred to as "toroa" in this series. So, how do we differentiate between them?
Picture
Click to read about the Gibson's wandering albatross Albatross or Toroa
Picture
Click to read about the Antipodean wandering albatross or Toroa

Albatross or mollymawk?


Read More
0 Comments

Rock wren or pīwauwau - a bird a day

11/25/2019

0 Comments

 

My first - and only - alpine native bird

Rock wren are our only true alpine bird. It is unknown how they survive the harsh climate above the tree line all year round, but it is likely they continue to forage on rocky bluffs where snow has not collected and amongst large boulder fields. Some have suggested they may have a period of semi-hibernation.
Source:
DOC
Picture
Rock wren; Image: Kerry Weston | DOC
Picture
Kerry Weston sampling rock wren; Image: Gayle Somerville ©

Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Cat Drayer

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016

    Categories

    All
    A Bird A Day
    Colourables
    Colour-cut-and-sew
    Copper Catkin At Home
    Copper Catkin Clothing
    Copper Catkin Consulting
    Designs
    Display Units
    Gazebo
    How To
    Interview
    Marketing
    Markets
    Miss Match
    My Process
    Outpawed
    Petone Winter Markets
    Renovations
    Spoonflower Design Challenges
    Wrought Makers' Markets

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • MARKETS
  • Consulting
  • Contact
  • About