In December while looking for aphids in Phear Park, the incredible naturalist and illustrator John Walters saw a bird out of the corner of his eye. Behaving differently to the usual urban park species his ID skills went into overdrive, and with its distinctive plumage and consant bobbing tail, it was incredibly an olive-backed pipit, in the middle of Exmouth. It was probably the rarest bird seen in Exmouth for the entire of 2022, with only around 30 birds a year coming to the UK.
This species is typically found wintering in Asia and Southeast Asia, not 1/2 a mile from Krispies Fish and Chip shop in the centre of Exmouth! It hung around for a week or so, showing it's busy behaviour off for hundreds of birdwatchers. Picking off small insects off the grass fronds and occasionally taking refuge on the mature oak trees in the park.
While I was there John was sat under the tree, with the pipit busy feeding in the grass around him. His paints, sketch pads, camera and equipment all laid out in easy arm's reach around him as he worked quickly to draw and paint the bird in a variety of poses and behavioural positions. With his permission I quickly grabbed my portrait lens (Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.2 Pro) and took some shots of John as he worked and chatted, a great candid portrait session. I liked his paintings, so much so I'm buying one and can't wait to get it framed and on the wall as a reminder of this day.
If you're interested in seeing more of John's work, please visit his website http://johnwalters.co.uk/ thanks for reading, on to the next encounter.
