Linocut in Progress: Distracted by mystery bird

Clearly I'm feeling stalled on the puffin linocut... Or rather I feel like I'm pacing back and forth on the edge of a cliff, trying to decide whether or not to jump off!

My solution to indecision is, of course, to distract myself with another print.

Stuart B. wins the bird ID quiz... this is, indeed, destined to highlight the common eider. To my mind it's the shape of the bill that gives it away, but then I've been looking at a lot of eiders lately. Not live ones, sadly, as I live far from their usual haunts. But once upon a time I was on the Isle of May (Scotland) in spring, surrounded by the sweet sounds of eiders wooing. When I was back on the mainland (granted, a bigger island)... I felt bereft without their calls.

Nostalgia aside, some quick progress has been made.

Eider linocut - Step 2

Difficult to tell here, but a second spot-inked yellow followed the first. This will be more clear when other colors arrive, I think.

And then a lovely pale green. (More spot inking.)

Eider linocut - Step 3

Really difficult to tell what's going on here, isn't it? The shapes seem odd and disjointed. Time to fix that with an overall transparent blue.

Eider linocut - Step 4

NOW there's an eider! And surprise! There's a second bird here, too.