Canadian National Wildfowl Carving Championship

20 March 2016

      Miriam and I attended the Canadian National Wildfowl Carving Championships for the first time. What a wonderful event! It will be on my calendar each year henceforth. It was amazing to discover people that we knew exhibiting their works at the very highest level.

     This Northern Pintail captures every detail of the bird in such lifelike fashion.

     The only minor irritation that I had was that people who had taken such care, and had demonstrated such incredible skill, didn't take the time to ensure that their work was correctly labelled. The formal name of this bird is Northern Pintail, not Pintail. 

     At the risk of being curmudgeonly I will point out a few other glaring errors as I show you more of the carvings.

     The following two representations of waterfowl are, I think you will agree, spectacular.

     The name should read Green-winged Teal, not Green-Winged Teal.

    This Belted Kingfisher, was especially charming, and bear in mind that, at this level, every component has to be carved. No natural materials are allowed.

     The following bird is labelled incorrectly as a drake; it is clearly a female Hooded Merganser; again exquisitely done with attention to detail, and carved and painted to perfection. Surely it is not too much to expect that it should be identified correctly.

     This Short-eared Owl was the most stunning carving of all in my opinion, and judging from the comments of many, I was not alone. The bird was truly lifelike. The feathers had been carved with such delicacy it was easy to believe they were real; one almost felt like sleeking them down.

     Once again the name is incorrectly spelled. It is Short-eared Owl and not Short-Eared Owl.

     Among the other carvings of raptors, these two really stood out.

Northern Goshawk - Male

Peregrine Falcon

     I am not sure whether Wood Thrush was a required component in one of the categories, but several carvers had tackled this species with incredible results.

     It bears repeating that everything has to be created by the carver. Aside from the bird the work is incredible, with amazing life-like detail.

     Miriam and I will soon be making a trip to Cuba, and one of the birds we most hope to see is the endemic Cuban Tody, rendered here so beautifully.

     Jim Lackenbauer, a member of Waterloo Region Nature, is a renowned collector of original decoys and has a stunning collection. Here are a few of them on display at the show. Duck decoys are a uniquely North American art form - art form now, I should say; their initial purpose was totally utilitarian.

     Waterfowl were prominent among the exhibits, perhaps recalling the original practice of carving decoys for hunters.

     The White-winged Scoter above is incorrectly spelled.

Ring-necked Duck - female

Common Goldeneye - female

     A competition takes place at the show, where carvers are given two hours to produce the head of a duck, in this case a Ruddy Duck. Their results are then judged and a winner is selected.

     Attention is paid to the jizz of the bird, whether the bill shape of the species has been captured faithfully, the contour of the head has to be correct, and so on. The degree of completeness is also taken into account. 

     It was interesting to hear the judges' (all renowned carvers) give their rationale for selecting first, second and third place.

     This show would make a fine addition to any birder's year. I certainly intend to make it regular event for us.