I start this second article by continuing our focus on the head exterior and mouth interior, which are two of the most viewed areas of any competition or commercial mount. I will also highlight craftsmanship as well as one of the major areas of evaluation on the scoresheet, and one of the biggest areas for improvement for nearly all taxidermists, that being the pelvic and pectoral fin attachments and associated musculature.

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Long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis), formerly known as old squaws, are medium-sized sea ducks that breed in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic, and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of the genus Clangula.

“Old Squaw” was the name given by Native Americans, due to their loud and abundant vocalizations. From a distance a flock of these beautiful birds sounded like a bunch of Native American women chattering away. Old squaw ducks are one of the deepest diving ducks, and can dive as deep as 60 meters (200 feet) to forage for food. They feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates, including insects and crustaceans. They also eat some oysters, clams, fish, fish eggs, and plant matter.

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This issue we are beginning a series of habitat articles by Kurt Ainsworth from Independence, Kentucky. Kurt grew up and started his career in taxidermy in Michigan, so he is very familiar with northern habitats of snow, and ice. He has traveled, hunted, and fished extensively in North America and Africa. Kurt offered to do a series of articles on many of his procedures for recreating and enhancing habitats.  Pictured are creations by Kurt Ainsworth, Kent Allard, Tim Patton, David Vestal, Crystal Halfhill, Paul Burczycki, Jim Hess, Seth Clark, Ron Biondolino, Chad Miller, Kevin Neidigh, and Crystal Van Ommen Versdaakdonk.

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A walrus “caused a stir” as it became stranded on the shoreline along the Southern Finland in July 2022. The appearance of the iconic Arctic animal on the coast of Finland caused enormous interest and, among the public, a desire to help.

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We are beyond excited to announce the location and facility for the next World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships®. Coralville is a suburb of Iowa City, Iowa, and is very near to the University of Iowa. It is a beautiful hotel, one which I would call first class in every way. Its management team is very professional and the hotel and conference center are well staffed. The room rates we have been given of $135.00 plus tax are exceptional for a Hyatt Regency. This rate includes free parking (normally $8 per day) and two buffet breakfast vouchers for each room-night booked under our World Show room block.

Kathy and I visited this facility in August, and out of 14 venues we considered, it received the only A+ in our rankings. The area surrounding the hotel is beautiful and safe with a lake and very large terrace on the back side and many excellent restaurants and shops within walking distance in the front. The Hyatt has a local-favorite restaurant and a large, newly remodeled bar for night life. We will have 20,000 square feet of open exhibition area for our trade show, and over 14,000 square feet for the competition area. Large seminar rooms have closed-circuit large screen videos, and the World Championships® Award Ceremony will be held Friday, August 9 in the Coral Ballroom with seating for 600-700 attendees. We are truly excited about this show and we do expect it to be the largest we have ever produced! I promise—it will be well staffed, no food shortage, plenty of ice machines working on each floor, plenty of hot water, and no leaks in the ceiling!

We will begin our main show promotions in early 2024, but we have already received hotel booking information for the Hyatt Regency. It is my guess this 288-room hotel will fill by early summer 2024, if not sooner. There are several other hotels within a 3- to 4-block walking distance and I am working on room blocks in two of these. I will announce those hotels and rates in future show promotions.

Our daily schedule will be the same as past shows, starting Tuesday evening August 6, at 3:00 p.m. and ending Saturday August 10 at 1:00 p.m. Taxidermy entries will be accepted and trade show exhibitors will move in between 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and again from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesday. Seminars will start at 6:00 p.m.Tuesday and continue each day through Friday. The World Show website should be online by February 2024 with a full list of seminars, instructors, judges, special events, and the award show.

Here is the booking information for the Hyatt Regency: Our Group Booking code is G-NCLE. Use this code if calling the hotel or going to the Hyatt website. A credit card is needed to guarantee your room booking. All rooms booked in our group room block using G-NCLE include two buffet breakfast vouchers for each room night booked and free parking for one vehicle. There will also be free parking for trailers in the conference center parking lot for attendees booked in our room block at the Hyatt. Your room key is your in/out pass. (If you are not staying at the Hyatt, vehicle and trailer parking at the conference center will cost $1.00 per hour or $8.00 per day.)

Room Rates: King bedroom or 2 queen bedroom $135.00 plus tax.

You can call the Hyatt Coralville hotel directly at (319) 688-4000 or go to our Hyatt group site to book rooms under our block. •