Bird on a Stick

Sad to say, FLAP picks up hundreds of dead birds every year. If the corpses are not too badly damaged, they are put into plastic bags and carefully laid inside a freezer. Some of these birds are then delivered to the University of Guelph where Graham Nancekivell, who is in charge of the Wildlife Museum in the Zoology Department, and I make them into study skins by freeze-drying them.
In this process the dead bird is positioned on its back and the feathers are cleaned and brushed. The bird is then placed inside a freeze-drier which sucks all the moisture out of the body. A stick is then placed into the bird's cloaca (the organ used for excretion and reproduction). The public can then pick up and look at the study skins without touching the feathers which can easily be damaged by too much handling. While I hear a lot of popsicle (and "birdsicle") jokes, even people who are usually not interested in birds marvel at the beauty of the plumage of these skins.
Some of these study skins are sent back to FLAP to be used in displays. The university uses its skins primarily for research purposes in the Zoology Department and in the Ornithology labs. At the University of Guelph's Arboretum, they come in handy at workshops. Having the study skins enables people to learn the field marks that help them identify birds. This in turn deepens their appreciation for birds, and the environment in general.
Chris Earley
Chris is the Interpretive Naturalist
at the University of Guelph's Arboretum.