BOTM February 2023

Already the 8th and no posts!! OK I'll start it

 

In all the years that I've been at taxidermy, this is the first can I've ever mounted

 

A Sandhill crane Just finished up…

 

Tar Belly Speck just left the shop and boy was the guy tickled.. Those smiles are why I started doing Taxidermy in the first place …

 

My first customer duck of the year is the same as Brooke's

 

I don't get many of these on the Texas Gulf Coast. Turns out he brought it back to me from Lake Michigan

 

The next one waiting for pick up

 

The first couple show how easy it is to improve the appearance of a mount with little effort. Superglue and a couple pieces of habitat got it done. Both Oldsquaw Hens were very immature birds, tails still had the notch in the ends. No fun at all. I seldom use string but I did on these girls.

 

My first lifesize turkey. I took the this pick of the bird when it was three weeks into the drying process.There was blue tape on the secondary wing feathers and some pins with cardboard squares. I used some acrylic paint to color in the secondaries over the blue tape and the cardboard squares. I then cut the silhouette out pasted it over the background.

The reason why I went through all of this? Well let's just say that one should never leave the mount with in the reach of a dog.

 

A strutting hen wall mount I did several years ago. She had more male plumage than not. Anthony Eddie artificial head. I did this with the wings attached.

 

Another one from long ago. Van Dykes artificial head, wingbone call and spurs hang beneath.

 

I painted the head.

 

This guy totally kicked my butt!
Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug!