Talented Young Lady Wins the National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest with an Odd Bird |

(Photo: USFWS)

Biologically speaking, a hooded merganser is what you get if you feed a wood duck after midnight. Though far more handsome than their common and red-breasted kin, hoodies are still a fright, with their periscoping white headdress and thin, serrated beaks. These little fish-eating ducks are at home in tidal saltwater bays and stagnating inshore stormwater ponds.

They’re fine sport with a shotgun but as table fare would force a toddler to choose Brussels sprouts.

Odd birds, for sure, but a super-gifted young lady painted a stately portrait of drake and hen hooded mergansers to win the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2021 National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest. And, I can’t help but admire the hoodie through her work.

From the USFWS:

A talented young artist from Kansas has taken top honors at the National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest. A pair of hooded mergansers by 18-year-old Margaret McMullen, will grace the 2021-2022 Junior Duck Stamp, which raises funds to educate and engage our nation’s youth in wildlife and wetlands conservation and outdoor recreation. A panel of five judges chose the entry, painted in acrylic, from among best-of-show entries from 50 states, Washington, D.C. and two U.S. Territories.

“I am so excited that thousands of talented young students from across the United States participated in this year’s Junior Duck Stamp Program, and especially proud to announce the top winners of this prestigious contest,” said Service Principal Deputy Director Martha Williams. “This program is one of our hallmark efforts to engage youth and foster a lifelong connection with the natural world through science, art and language.”

Students in kindergarten through grade twelve participate in their annual state Junior Duck Stamp Program through their school, home, art studio or after-school group, or from a national wildlife refuge, park or nature center. After learning about wetlands, waterfowl and wildlife conservation, they express their learning through a drawing or painting of a duck, goose or swan.

The top piece of art in the nation – chosen at this annual competition – is featured on the Junior Duck Stamp, sales of which support educational programs and activities that nurture our next generation of conservationists.

The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program began in 1989 as an extension of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly known as the Duck Stamp. The first national Junior Duck Stamp art contest was held in 1993. The stamp encourages students to explore their natural world, participate in outdoor recreation activities, and learn wildlife management principles. Approximately 2,000 Junior Duck Stamps are sold annually for $5 each.

Each year I am awed by the skill of these youth submissions. Ducks are a difficult medium to master, I would think. The details alone only God could conceive, but these accomplished artists faithfully recreate the slight nuances in coloration and patterns found in waterfowl.

Congrats to Ms. Mullen on her achievement. I expect to see more of her work on duck stamps in the future.

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(Ledger hunting correspondent Ian Nance can be reached at inance880@aol.com. Follow on Facebook @PolkOutdoors; Twitter @Good_Hunt; and Instagram @inance880)