January Work Bench

Hi, Steve~

Thanks very much!

Google Images is a great tool - but its bird ID can never be trusted.

Really interesting about the "Tobacco Lip" - I never heard the term but it's really important for Black Ducks. I was wondering about it as I viewed the different faces.

I suppose I will have to cave in on the bill color. From what I've seen, they really have a slight greenish cast (as do many Black Ducks) - so Chrome Yellow is really the ticket.

Right now I'm rushing around trying to finish 2 - no 4 - toy boats. My wife is heading to Berlin tomorrow afternoon and I had been planning to send both the SIRI and the LINEA overseas - then this morning I learned that our exchange-student daughter Linda just gave birth to another girl - so I'll be painting WAYRA across a transom probably early tomorrow.....

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve I posted a pic recently of a banded mottled duck drake I shot last week down south in a thread called Louisiana trip. I don't know how close to a Mexican duck they look . I have other pics if needed.
 
Hi, Bob~

Your Mottled Duck is a beauty! Notice, though, that it has a strong "Tobacco Lip" (as per Steve Sutton) - just like a nice adult Black Duck. I took Steve's advice - shaved the lip, changed the bill, et cetera. I will post my "progress" when I have good photo light again tomorrow morning.

Thanks for your help,

SJS
 
Good morning, Steve~

I have complied with all of your orders (!)....

A-MexicanDuckIISMALL_zps9d5231d0.jpg


The bill is now shaded far beyond the demands of any gunning stool - but has the mix of warm and cool yellows I see on birds in hand.


You'll note that the head shape is still "Sanford Black Duck" - with a full, somewhat upright crown. I have often thought that drake Blacks must have longer feathers (than Mallards) on the "forehead" - so they can erect it like Greater Scaup, Gadwalls, Redheads, etc. I know all ducks do this to a certain extent via piloerection - but I cannot think of seeing this in Mallards. All the Mottled (and Florida) Ducks I have seen - either live or on the web - seem to have the flatter slope of the Mallard. Your thoughts?


And here is the "fleet" - ready to cross the Atlantic later today:
A-JanuaryFleetSMALL_zps9de72511.jpg


And finally - I needed another cardholder - for the talk (about my Great South Bay Scooter) that I'll be presenting this coming Sunday.


A-Cardholder-CanvasbackJan2015SMALL_zpse418572d.jpg



Now I need to load the Element for the last few days of the Long Island season.

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve, love it, especially the shading in the bill, to paraphrase the inimitable Gilda Radnor, "that makes me wet"...
Genetically it is said that Mottled Ducks evolved from Black Ducks so I would think that if there is something going on with the crown or shape of the head in Mottled Ducks it would follow the Black Duck body shape. Not sure on that but I've always thought of Mottled Ducks as being "round headed" even while not carrying that out to Mallards not being "as round headed". More attention needed on that one .....
My thoughts on Mexican Duck decoys are that "how can you go wrong" on them? They're a sub-species of the ubiquitous Greenhead and the science tells us that there are few, if any, PURE Mexican Ducks left in the U.S, if any at all. A tragedy IMO but apparently true. Based on that any slight variation in colors or feather details would be "correct"..
One thing I know for sure is that I need, (as in MUST HAVE), a Mottled Duck for my Florida rig so you might as well go ahead and put me on your list for one of those. Let's go a drake first, complete with that most delicious bill shading, and I'll add the hen at a later date....wait...Full Body...you up for a Full Body?
Love the little boats....neat stuff...where's the bikini clad deck hand?


Steve
 
Beautiful decoy and one hell of a stud mottled duck drake.
And a nice pup too!
 
Bob~

What a great comparison!

Question: It seems to my eye that the speculum is more blue than a Mallard's. It seems almost straight Ultramarine - whereas I see Mallard specs go off toward violet. Your thoughts?

All the best,

SJS
 
This canvas turkey decoy has stayed nekkid long enough. I don't even remember what year I built it but it got painted in the past week. First decoy of any great sized that I used artist oils on.
It is probably a little on the small side. Still need to work on a stake for it.

IMG_20150128_204838_zpspro6giuo.jpg


IMG_20150128_160319_764_zpsexhqpxtb.jpg


IMG_20150128_160351_246_zpshwjtvhab.jpg


Tim
 
Thanks guys. Yep, not a lot of canvas turkeys out there. :)
Collin, I really like those sneaking teal up toward the top. They are going to make a nice teal rig.

Tim
 
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