Bird Taxidermy Classes Offered at SIC

Bird hunters will have an opportunity to learn bird mount taxidermy at Southeastern Illinois College this fall. Classes begin Aug. 13 and commence Tuesday evenings 5-9 through early December.

The taxidermy course will cover all aspects of mounting and is designed to allow students to develop all of the skills necessary to mount birds. Course objectives include specimen handling and care, measurements, skinning and fleshing, base-making design and composition, form selection and preparation, form alteration, mounting, finishing, airbrush coloration and displaying.

Participants are encouraged to bring their bird(s) to mount. If they don’t have one to bring, one will be provided. However, if one is provided they may not be able to keep it at the end of class. Participants will complete at least one mount during the 16 weeks.

Instructing the class is a professional who has been working in taxidermy for 30 years — Neil Winchester of Neil Winchester Taxidermy in Marion. Winchester specializes in game head mounts and bird mounts.

“The main reason I like doing taxidermy is preserving the memory of the hunt,” said Winchester. “People can look at their mount and remember everything that happened during that hunt.”

The class is designed for the hobby taxidermist to ensure professional training to produce professional work.

Participants will finish the class with not only their first mount, but also the knowledge to create more mounts along with their own taxidermy toolkit. In-district tuition and fees are approximately $400.  Participants aged 65 and older enjoy free tuition.  Students are responsible for their own equipment, and the supply list will be emailed before the start of class. Participants aged 65 and older will enjoy free tuition for the class.

To register for the taxidermy class, call (618) 252-5400, ext. 4120. For more information about the class, email alli.armstrong@sic.edu, call ext. 2104, or visit www.sic.edu/taxidermy.

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