Mounting a Standing Duck
Common Goldeneye
Garry's favorite taxidermy project is bird mounting. Here are the basic steps to mounting a duck. The bird is skinned with a belly incision, fleshed, washed and dried.
This photo shows the dried skin, artificial body made from a tracing of the bird carcass. Garry hand makes his artificial bodies from excelsior. Most taxidermists buy pre-made foam bodies. The head is a cast of the real skull and bill, made from urethane plastic. Glass eyes are added to the artificial head. The bill is painted. The duck in the photo is a Common Goldeneye and it's bill is black.
Leg wires are added and the belly seam is sewn. Pins hold the feathers in position until dry (about 2 weeks). The leg wires hold the bird to the branch in this mount. After drying, the colors are restored to the feet with paint.
Common Goldeneye (Drake)
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