Nature Center Visit: Gadwalls!
The ethics of taxidermy; Leonids and Super Moon
After a few hours of birding at Wildwings Lake one day this week I was chilled to the bone, so I decided to check out the Kensington Metropark Nature Center, a short walk from the parking lot. The Horsewoman was on a trail ride so I had some time to relax.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was Ranger, a captive Redtailed Hawk. Ranger was hit by a car and suffered a head injury. He can no longer fly.
But he does more than just guard the back entrance. He also gives presentations at the Nature Center!
I will keep my eyes open for an upcoming chance to spend more time with Ranger.
The Nature Center was well-staffed and welcoming. There is no admission fee. I was taken aback by the many bird and animal mounts. I know taxidermy can be controversial. I spoke to a park ranger about the mounts.
The Nature Center has about 100 mounted specimens. Some of them are 100 years old. None of the animals were killed by the Nature Center or its agents. There are two sources for the mounts. They were either found dead by the roadside, or were donated after they had been mounted.
Personally I find great value in having the chance to observe a specimen up close, without danger to the animal or myself, and without disturbing the environment. These are not trophies. No one is bragging here. It is simply a chance for us to appreciate and understand the beauty and complexity of nature, and to help with identification of the amazing array of species on Earth.
This mount of a Gadwall is a perfect example. I had been struggling for some time to identify this duck in the field. I could hardly contain myself when I found a pair at the Center. Check out the wide bill. Dabblers like the Gadwall have wider bills than the divers. The wide bill makes it easier for the dabbler to filter food from the water, while diving duck’s bills are sharper for grabbing invertebrates and other prey off the bottom of the lake, or spearing a fish. And the feet of a dabbler are directly beneath the bird, so they can walk on land too. Diving ducks’ feet are well behind the body, giving them more leverage so they can flip down to the bottom and swim under water.
From this angle you can clearly see the white wing patch and the beautiful feather patterns that adorn these interesting dabblers.
The Nature Center didn’t have any mounts of Ring-necked Ducks or American Widgeons. But I did find these excellent videos on YouTube:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Male Ring-necked Duck with females
The most amazing mounts at the Nature Center were the owls and raptors.
Barred Owl.
Now check out this YouTube Barred Owl nest cam. Amazing!
We never had this great photography in the past. Instead we had to rely on taxidermy specimens. Maybe now with the incredible technology and power of the internet we can replace taxidermy with video and still photography.
Great Horned Owl.
But the feeling you get when in the presence of these birds is pretty inspiring too.
I don’t have all the answers and I don’t want to pass judgment. I just want to appreciate and commune with nature in the field. I found the exhibits helped me more fully appreciate and identify what I could make out through binoculars.
But I also understand how these exhibits may be offensive to some. And that’s ok.
Meanwhile, Yeti and his Boss were on a trail ride along the Huron River Ridge. You can ride along for a bit in the video above.
I dove down for a nice hot bowl of chicken pot pie soup and a cold draft.
We drove through a cold drizzle to the cottage today, with a northwest wind. Now the rain has stopped and there’s a low pewter sky. There’s still a hint of dark orange and some browns and yellows, but the peak colors are past and most of the leaves are down.
While the grass is very green here, I’ve been told New England has a serious drought on its hands. Hope the weather and conditions are good for you wherever you may be, and that Boston gets some needed rain!
The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks tonight, Saturday November 16th, so if you have clear skies it might be worth a look. But we’re just past the last Super Moon of the year, so it may be a bit bright.
Thanks for riding along and for sharing your thoughts. So glad you’re here~!
I think the biggest reason it's controversial is that there's no real way to know for sure that they died naturally. But I agree with you, I think it's a great opportunity to study them.
I used to take the birds that killed themselves against my windows down to the local university extension for their taxidermies. That's how they got their animals. Roadkill, etc. In other news: when Cabela's opened their store in Reno years ago, I walked in the front door and came face-to-trunk with an elephant. It was huge and very intimidating. The feeling of awe I felt at that moment is engraved in memory.