Ashland Primary School, Mrs. Beeksama's first grade class at the Ducks on a Stick presentation. Ashland Wisconsin. May 2007. FWS Photo.

Kindergarten and First Grade classes at Ashland Primary School got a special treat in the closing days of the 2007 School year.  While not very tasty because the feathers are still in the way, they all loved the Ducks On A Stick presentation given by Ted Koehler from the Ashland Fishery Resources Office. 

Questions were asked from the minute the birds were brought through the door, and the whole time could have been spent just answering their eager stream of inquiries.  However, there was time to squeeze in the presentations and children got to hold a duck and parade it for the class while the others tried to guess the species and then learn a little bit about the bird and its habits.

Ducks On A Stick are literally ducks attached to a stick so people can handle and identify taxidermy mounted ducks.  They were provided by Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge and were a big hit at the school as well as the Chequamegon Bay Birding and Nature Festival. 

Species commonly found on Lake Superior and it’s wetlands around Ashland such as American black ducks, lesser scaup and mallards were part of the show.  For the first time, many of the kids got to see, touch and learn about species such as American black ducks, mallards and lesser scaup.  Now, the next time they stand at  Prentice Park overlooking Lake Superior coastal wetlands, they can impress mom and dad with their knowledge of the blue-winged teal that may swim by.