Yesterday Was a Ducky Sort of Day!

It was a great day for pictures! Alas, the River is opening up and the birds are dispersing to their nesting areas. In the meantime, I had fun!

Here are a pair of Common Goldeneye

A Canada Goose making a big splash on arrival

Two male Greater Scaup

A Pair of Bufflehead

A Male Common Goldeneye

A male Hooded Merganser

Tundra Swans

The Tundra Swans are a lot bigger than the Canada Goose!

A pair of Mallards

Canada Goose Mating ritual

Three Canada Geese fighting for the right to mate

A Sunny Afternoon at the River

There was one lone duck, a Common Goldeneye female that was swimming in some open water on the Athabasca. Either she was a late hatch, injured or just reluctant to go south, I don't know. She has a few tough months ahead of her.

This big Mule Deer was just standing, munching on some grass and enjoying the sun shine. Oh, yeah, he was keeping an eye on his harem, three of them.

This was the only doe that was co-operative.

Carving Finished! (Almost)

Here is a link to previous steps in the carving process.Carving

I find the painting to be the most challenging part of doing a decoy, or decorative bird. I am partially blue-green colour blind so those mixtures are particularly difficult. The bird was sealed with shelac, then coated with Gesso, a white paint that is like painting on an eggshell when dry.

Sealed and ready for paint

Now I have to figure out what to start next!