This watercolour is the sketch of a river bank where the Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) nests, this little swallow breeds colonially and dig your nests in tunnels. In spring they arrive on our rivers from Africa wintering quarter. They need to find vertical river bank to erosion and a layer of silt and sand in which their dig galleries. You could find maybe a few hundred up to 6,000 nests! Unfortunately where I live are becoming fewer because of the river systems that no longer offers available habitats, sometimes nesting in gravel pits or sand, replacing the banks river I'm love this small animal (the subject of my thesis, 15 years ago!!), but is not easy to paint, due to flights acrobatic, better when they looking out the nest!!
This is a lovely sketch. Your sand martin sound a lot like our bank swallows. They too nest in colonies in vertical banks .. and we don't see them very often.
ReplyDeleteActually it appears it's the same bird as our bank swallows...Riparia riparia. We see them along the little river in my town, and Maria, you've done a beautiful job capturing them!
ReplyDeleteFantastic watercolour, one that brings back memories from my childhood watching the sand martins nesting in an abandoned brickyard near my home.r
ReplyDeleteHi Elva, Kate and Peter! Yes Bank swallow is the same of Sand Martin Riparia riparia, this little bird (but strong when crossing the desert or the sea for example during migration!!) links us!! different countries, different memories, the same passion the nature!! ciao
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