The email we got from Bruce upon completing his quest –

About 8 years ago I set a quest of collecting all the North American waterfowl. It first started with ducks and grew to include geese and the one swan (41 total). After 8 long years of miserable weather, long plane rides and one mishap after the other, I am proud to announce that I have now collected them all. Saturday in northern California I collected (shot) the Pacific Brant, the last goose I needed and the following Sunday morning I shot the Ruddy duck.

Ray Johnson with his wife Barbara own and operate Game Bird Taxidermy in Helena, MT. Their shop only does birds and they are dedicated to excellence in bird taxidermy. Ray has been interested in birds and bird hunting especially the ruffed grouse of his home state New York since his teens. In 1981 Ray started his quest to hunt and mount every species of upland game bird and waterfowl available on any state list as well as the federal list. He accomplished that goal in 2005 filling out his royal slam on turkeys. During these years he finished a Master’s Degree in Wildlife biology and with a minor in ornithology he became very interested in bird watching. He and Barbara have traveled to five continents to add new birds to their life list. As Ray says – the hunting with binoculars (I still need to understand the habitats and habitat needs of the birds I intend to see) and the observation of birds in the wild has made me appreciate their form and behavior and I am able to reproduce that art form in my shop. I still love to hunt blue grouse in Montana and am currently hunting for subspecies (races) of the upland and wildfowl of North America. I have hunted and taken 80 + species, with over 300 mounts --- the taxonomists keep it interesting like the current split into two species of blue grouse so there is always a new challenge.

Shane Smith is a Current World Champion Taxidermist. In his words – “winning the coveted BEST IN WORLD TITLE at the 2007 World Taxidermy Championships has been icing on the cake. I love my Job, my family, and life.” He has also been the winner of all major national titles: National and North American Champion. He is the owner of Artist Compositions Taxidermy, the countries largest and most innovative bird taxidermy studio in the US. Shane has collected and studied birds from various destinations worldwide, Africa, NZ, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, to name a few. As owner of Wingshooter Safaris he offers trips to many of these locations. As he says “Each bird is a new challenge... It keeps things interesting!” He has created a "one stop shop"., he does not only import and mount your trophy birds, he sends clients to locations that provide opportunity for success.

Oz found his calling early in life and he has been hunting waterfowl since. There are 153 unique species of ducks, geese and swans in the world. Some species are protected, but the ones that can be legally hunted, have been pursued by Oz over a span of three decades all over the world. Chesapeake Bay has always been near and dear to his heart and his most favorite hunting location. He is also on the Field Staff of "The Bird Hunting Report" magazine where you can often read about his bird hunting trips. Oz is a NSCA classed Master shooter and when he is not hunting waterfowl you can find him participating in Sporting Clays tournaments all over the country. He was selected as member of the Pennsylvania State Team for Sporting Clays in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Oz ranked fourth in the World at the 2007 Vintagers Cup World Side by Side Championship. He also teaches Sporting Clays to kids and gives shooting lessons to beginners.

Patrick Pitt is a truly dedicate waterfowler and the co-owner of Wingshooter Safaris offering unique waterfowling adventures. Not only has he harvested all 37 current legal species of North American Waterfowl, but also have harvested Emperor Geese, Steller's and Spectacled Eiders before they were closed to hunting. Not to mention all the vagrant to the U.S. like Eurasian Wigeon, Barnacle Geese and Masked Ducks. Having hunted in around the world he includes over 600 mounted birds in his collection. In his words “I started waterfowl hunting in 1961, so I've been at it for a long time and look forward to each day like it was my first.”