The book: The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters with North America's Most Iconic Birds, by Paul Bannick.
Drawing from photos isn't ideal, I'll admit, but it does allow you to really look at the bird in ways you might not be able to in the wild. For one thing, getting close enough to your subject to be able to do anything but catch its gesture might not be possible.
And then there's the emotional response... I saw Brown Pelicans for the first time on my vacation last week and they were so beautiful that all I wanted to do was watch them for as long as they were there without having to futz with trying to draw them, or digging out the camera.
I'm not sure I'll ever outgrow that... I'm not sure I ever want to outgrow that... it's good to be flat out amazed every now and again, I think.
