The bufflehead is one of my favorite species of duck. I wrote about buffleheads in 2019 and showed a piece of art by Mac Heaton (1925-2002), a wildlife artist who worked for a long time with the Indiana Department of Conservation. You can see that picture by clicking here. Now I have another picture of buffleheads, this one by Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling (1876-1962). (Those are ruddy ducks on the right.) Although he was better known as a political and editorial cartoonist, Darling was also a conservationist and wildlife artist. The J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida, is named in his honor. The illustration below is from a full-page feature called "Don't Shoot These Ducks! Uncle Sam's Laws Protect Them," from the Sunday Des Moines Register, November 1, 1936.
Darling was born in Norwood, Michigan. His very slim connection to Indiana was by way of living in the Hoosier State for a brief time when he was young.
Text copyright 2022, 2024 Terence E. Hanley
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