Update Archives 2005

Below are the prior updates for the Free Kori Program:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


July 27 2005 Free Kori Bustard update.

In my opinion the project is progressing quite nicely. We continue to receive new feathers with the promise of more to come. I have sent out quite a few boxes of feathers and as far as I know most people have been pleased. There are still several requests that have been received but not shipped. They will be receiving feathers shortly.

I hope everyone receiving free feathers will at least make an effort to send feedback to KoriSSP@FeathersMc.com
Unless you tell our friends that are saving these feathers for us, you appreciate their efforts, how will they know? I suspect some of you have made outright donations, several have purchased pins or T-shirts and I appreciate that but only a small handful have sent feedback. If you haven?t and wish to express your feelings one way or the other please take a minute and drop them a note.

The fly pictured above is a beautiful pattern created and tied by Cameron Derbyshire of Eugene Oregon. He used feathers he had just received to make this and another Dee Style pattern that he sent to me as a token of his appreciation. He used the Eagle style marabou hackle from the underside of the Kori and Kori scapular for the flie?s wings. Thank you Cameron. Around the same time as I received Cameron?s flies I was corresponding via email with Scott Barton of the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. Scott had asked me if he could BUY a couple of Kori Flies so he could make a display explaining their end of the program to their visitors. Selling Kori laden flies to the nice people who give us the feathers just doesn?t sound right to me.

Now I?m asking you to tie a fly or two using the Kori I sent you and forward them to me. I?ll be doing the reverse of the original concept. I will be distributing Kori Bustard Feather adorned fish hooks to the various facilities that have the birds and sent me the feathers in the first place. If you would like to send a fly it doesn?t have to be a salmon type fly in fact the more innovative you are the better. If you have any questions please contact John@FeatherMc.com Thank you.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


July 12, 2005 Yesterday, July 11, was another banner day for the Fly Tyers in the US. This incredible assortment of feathers, pictured above, finally arrived. Unfortunately a mature bird had passed away at one of the Facilities that is collecting molted feathers for us. Fortunately all of the feathers were saved and passed on to us. This was a female bird and thus we have no canoe paddle sized feathers but we do have a very good supply of very usable and long Kori Bustard. My intent is to combine these feathers with what is still here from prior shipments and send each person an assortment representing something from each pile.

I have enlarged portions of the above picture and tried to offer the best description and suggested use as I can below:

Click HERE to see a close up view of collection A. This represents the Salmon Fly winging material 5/0 und up. There are no perfect pairs but a lot of very good quality with long barb length, that in some cases will be much longer than most of the hooks you own. You will get either a large center type feather that is close to bi-laterally symmetrical or two feathers that have good and long barbs on at least one of opposite sides.

Click HERE to see a close up view of collection B. The Tail feathers pairs are to the left in this photo. They are prized for their use in Dee Flies. Unfortunately for us they are also prized by the Native American Fan and Bustle makers due to their unique color and markings. The Native Americans are to be included as recipients in this program as well as Fly Tyers. Most of these tail feathers will go to them. To the center and right in this photo are for the most part not useable for Salmon Fly wings due to abrasion and wear but have a myriad of uses in tying fishing flies. Wing cases on nymphs, herl bodies on wet or dry flies to name a couple. If desired you will receive something from this collection.

Click HERE to see a close up view of collection C. These are the large, non-speckled, wing feathers. As it is with the tail feathers, most of these will go to Native Americans. There are uses in fishing flies for the Biot and trailing edge barbs of the primaries and I will include a feather or section of one if you wish.

Click HERE to see a close up view of collection D. These are the neck, breast and abdominal feathers. I will include a selection of each type. The neck are long barbed, flowing hackles much like (finer than) Heron used on Spey patterns, only black and white barred. The pile in the lower right of this picture is the Fluffies or marabou feathers found between the legs of the bird. They have a very supple rachis and make a wonderful substitute for the Eagle feathers used on antique patterns.

Click HERE to see a close up view of collection E. These are various feathers found on the dorsal body and wing covert areas of the Kori. The upper left pile is speckled bustard but a little on the smaller side. They have 2&1/2 inch barb length or shorter but all very usable. There?s lots of winging material here for smaller Salmon Flies and fishing flies. Imagine putting Speckled Bustard wings on you Muddler Minnows. These feathers also make really nice down wings on caddis patterns like the Henryville or even a Mudddler. The center and right piles in the top row of section E picture are underwing flats. They are a nice rich color but the barbs demonstrate a reverse curve and aren?t really suitable for Salmon Fly wings. The lower left pile is wing coverts, they are small but very usable. The tail and body veilings on Paul Rossman?s fly pictured on the SSP Information Pamphlet (pictured on the 6/22 update) utilized these feathers. The pile in the lower right of this picture is the smaller body feathers. They are used as hackle when Bustard is called for. You will receive a substantial number of feathers from this area.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1 2005 The FREE KORI BUSTARD program is now officially under way. The first packages I?ve sent have started to arrive. Many of you will be surprised at the amount you actually receive as it may appear to be more than I had indicated I would be sending. At no time was it my desire to mislead anyone but it appears as if we will be getting a lot more feathers in the very near future.

Many of you will also find an assortment of neck hackle in your box. Initially I felt we would never see too many of the neck feathers as this was to be a molted feather project. The neck feathers are so light and wispy the wind usually blows them away before they can be picked up. It turns out I was completely wrong as to the amount I thought we would get. We have received quite a few already with the indication of more on the way.

I have also been informed there is a large collection of feathers that will be arriving soon. In fact during my conversation with this wonderful person she indicated she would be ?glad to get her office back? because it was currently cluttered with big bags of Kori feathers. That, my friends, gave me Goosebumps. It was based on that information and additional conversations of late that caused me to not cut up the good feathers I had but to send them out intact to the people who had already sent their postage and address labels.
There were two requests with postage and addresses still here from March 2004 when I gave Kori away the first time as well as several others that have come in unsolicited since then. A few of the new requests have arrived and been filled as well. I will continue to fulfill your requests as best I can as soon as the next shipment arrives. That is any day now. Hopefully there will be a cornucopia of different body feathers and such to divvy up. We can only wait and see.

I?m only aware of two messages received at the KoriSSP@FeathersMc.com mailbox. Hopefully there are more than two of you out there that think this is a worthwhile program and that you would like to see it continue. Many people have written to me telling of their thoughts and I appreciate that but I would also like to have the feedback go directly to that mailbox. Most of us know ?Nothing in life is really free? and I do attach a string or two to the feathers. I ask that you consider making a donation to the KoriSSP Fund, buy a Lapel Pin or a T-shirt and leave feedback. None of that is mandatory but it can?t hurt if we are to sustain this as an ongoing program.

If you have any questions or wish to request feathers contact me at John@FeathersMc.com . Thank you for your cooperation and patience.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be sure and see the latest update. Posted July 1

June 22, 2005 I finally have enough feathers that I can start distributing them. Pictured at left is the cover of the informational pamphlet the people involved with the Kori SSP (Species Survival Plan) have provided me to send along with the feathers. There are two things that I will ask of you.

The people involved with the Kori SSP and the facilities that are supporting this project, have asked for some type of feedback indicating whether or not this does in fact help either people and or the birds. If you have been a recipient (March 2004 giveaway) or will be receiving feathers soon and would like to add your name and comments in support, please drop a quick email to KoriSSP@FeathersMc.com Thank you.

The other favor I ask is that we support Kori SSP buy buying either a T-shirt or one of the new Pins being offered.

THESE FEATHERS CAN NOT BE SENT OUT OF THE U.S. AND ARE NOT BE SOLD.


Click HERE to see the various feathers that I will be relocating soon. The five piles of feathers in the picture represent:

A. Small feathers and/or short barb length. Great for small salmon flies, wet flies wings, nymph wing cases, barbs twisted and wrapped (like peasant tail nymph) to make fly bodies or any use you may come up with for tying fishing flies. You will get at least one feather from this type.

B. These are the feathers everybody wants. These are mostly Scapular or shoulder feathers with very long barb length at least on one side. Both sides can be usable but one side will be significantly shorter than the other. It generally takes both a right and left feather to achieve the barb length most people feel they need. If you will notice this pile has the fewest feathers in it. My intentions are I will divide these feathers into usable pieces of right and left sections so that everyone will be able to get at least a little bit to use.

C. Primary and secondary wing feathers. They have limited use in salmon fly tying, however they have many uses in general fishing flies. The biots on the primary feathers are much like the condor biots that were used in giant stone fly nymphs and wrapped quill bodies on nymphs and dry flies. The secondary wing quills are great for muddler wings etc. These feathers may also have to be cut up in matching sections to ensure those who want it get it.

D. Tail feathers. Great for Spey and Dee style fly wings. There are just not enough to do much with as far as dividing it up. As time goes by and additional feathers come in maybe it will be possible to send out pairs.

E. Wing coverts. For the most part small but usable. At least one feather from this grouping will be included.

Not pictured is a quantity of miscellaneous body plumage including the sought after neck feathers. I will be dividing them up and including some with each assortment so that everyone will receive some of these unusual but usable feathers for general fly tying.

If you are only interested in receiving ?matched pairs of feathers with 8/0 barb length? as that?s what most have asked for, then you will have to wait. If you wish to receive an assortment of what is available and I haven?t already notified you of this offer please contact me at John@FeathersMc.com You are welcome to contact me with a request for the ?Large Pairs? but you will be placed on the wait list in the order your requests are received

My sincere hope is that this will be a long term project that will one day will be able to supply all of the Kori needs of U.S. tiers. Until then we will have to make do with what is available and not be greedy. Greed is what caused the price of Kori feathers to get out of hand in the first place.

FREE KORI BUSTARD FEATHERS

A year or so ago a new program began where several US Zoos elected to save the molted feathers from their Kori Bustards and send them to me for free distribution. I have received a great deal of wonderful feathers that I have been giving to fly tiers in the US. I try to send you feathers you can use to tie flies. Not everybody receives a pair of collector grade scapular feathers but everybody requesting it has received a substantial amount of desirable and useable feathers from all corners of the bird. There will be ample winging material for the largest salmon flies as well as an assortment of exceptional feathers from various areas of the bird. See the July 12 Update and earlier in Update Archives for additional feather information.

To participate in this program all you need to do is send me a $3.85 USPS Priority Mail Stamp and an address label with your name and address on it. I understand Postal Rates may increase after January so the price of the stamp may go up at that time. The Post Office gives me the free boxes so all I have to do is stick the feathers in the mailer put your stamp and label on it then have the Postal Service pick it up. I do include a Kori SSP brochure and a letter from me outlining things you can do if you so choose to assist the Kori SSP.

Contact me at John@FeathersMc.com for feather availability and for my address. Please indicate what you tie and hook size you prefer and I will try and accommodate your needs.

John McLain