A Visit to the Taxidermist

A national award winning taxidermist has a shop two blocks from the school.  I had told him that when he has some bird mounts, I'd like to bring my class in to check them out.  My students know many birds, but they have only seen photos or drawing of them, so this was a chance to see some birds in 3-D and have a chance to get an idea of the size of the birds.

The shop was filled with some animals such as deer, bears, a wolverine, a wolf, a sailfish, etc.  It also had many birds.  Larry carefully quizzed the kindergartners on the birds and showed the field marks to watch for.  The kids did quite well on identifying their birds.  There were a few that I have not taught them because they are not seen in our state.

The most impressive thing to me was how they behaved.  I had told them how they were not to touch any of the animals and they obeyed that very well.  They stood still and were very attentive the whole time that Larry was talking to them.  I was so proud of them and how they have matured throughout the school year.

There was a lot to see at his shop. The kids were surprised 
to hear about how tough a Wolverine was.  One boy 
said, "That's because he is a superhero!"

Larry taught them about several of the animals.

Some birds they got to see were the Snow Goose, Ross's Goose,
Greater White-fronted Goose, Northern Pintail, Mallard, 
Greater Prairie-Chicken, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Ring-necked 
Pheasant, Sooty Grouse, Willow Ptarmigan, Wild Turkey, 
and an Oscillated Turkey from Mexico.

The kids were surprised at how huge the flying 
Wild Turkey was.

He told them that he mostly works on Ring-necked 
Pheasants.  Here they are looking at a Blue {Snow}Goose.