Lynchburg wildlife wood carver specializes in birds

A Blue-winged Teal perches on a shelf in Ted Litwin’s living room. It’s Litwin’s favorite, a brown-speckled duck that prefers shallow ponds. When in flight, the bird’s feathers unveil a streak of brilliant blue.

“They are very subtle and graceful,” Litwin says.

The North American duck is one of more than 15 wooden birds that live in Litwin’s small Lynchburg apartment. Litwin carved each by hand, transforming a block of wood into an intricate sculpture.

Some are crafted as traditional decoys, while others are simply decorative. All of them are meticulous, from the shape of the beak to the barbs on the feathers. Litwin strives for the “utmost in accuracy.”

Litwin, who has been carving birds for 18 years, is a wiry man with a bushy brown mustache. He wears a faded T-shirt from a decoy festival tucked into brown corduroy pants.

The avian aficionado has accumulated heaps of bird knowledge. Before starting a new carving, he researches extensively, using the Internet and specialty bird books.

Litwin can tell you about the Golden Plover, which flies 3,000 miles nonstop between Hawaii and the Arctic. Or the Nene Goose, the state bird of Hawaii, which has special webbing on its feet for walking on rocky lava flows.

By studying more than just anatomy, Litwin gives his birds an extra touch of personality. He holds up a male Widgeon, a grey-brown duck from North America with a green eye patch. The feathers are puffed up and neck is tucked low.

“I made him look like he’s on a farm pond freezing his butt off,” Litwin says.

To pay the bills, the New Jersey native works for the IT department at the Lynchburg’s J Crew distribution center. He splits his free time between carving and biking in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When Litwin moved to Lynchburg last year, he set up a woodworking studio in his closet-sized laundry room.

Right now, Litwin is working on a pair of male and female Golden Plovers for a client in Hawaii. The Plover project has taken longer than expected since the bird is so rare.

Litwin usually carves with Tupelo, a rare wood that grows in swamps in the American southeast. Litwin considers it “the best carving wood in the world.”

After the bird is carved to size, Litwin paints it grey to neutralize the body. Then he undertakes the tedious task of carving the details, including the tiny barbs and shafts on the feathers.  On a real bird, there are between 60 and 80 barbs per inch. Litwin tries as hard as possible to replicate this level of detail.

Litwin uses the same glass eyes a taxidermist uses. He must be very careful not to scratch them or break the feathers. The bird becomes delicate in the later stages, and mistakes can be hard to fix.

When the carving is complete, Litwin paints the bird with oil-based pigments. It takes about five coats to feather a bird.

Litwin’s interest in birds continues to expand. Though ducks and geese have long captivated his fancy, he is ready to try something new. His next undertaking: songbirds.