Some miscellany about the duck stamp competition last weekend. It was won, as you know, by Joe Hautman of Plymouth.

There were 191 entries. Sixty-five of those artists chose Wood Duck from the five candidate species selected by the duck stamp office. Hautman's winning painting was of a Wood Duck.

The other species available for the 2011-12 stamp were Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, and Mallard.

Twenty-nine of the 191 entries were made by Minnesota artists. The next highest state was Ohio with 11 entries.

There were five judges. On the first round of judging, all entries were shown, judges voting "in" or "out". Entries with a majority of "in" votes moved to the second round. In addition, each judge could select five entries from those not chosen in the voting.

Technical advisors from the Department of the Interior and U.S. Postal Service examined the selections at this point. They looked for anatomical problems and any problem with incorporating the artwork into a stamp.

On the second round of judging, each judge assigned a number from one to five to each selection. Scores were totaled. The five entries with the highest totals advanced to the final round. In that final round, judges again gave each entry a score – three, four, or five. Highest score won.

Hautman's painting received a score of 25, or the highest score possible from each judge. It was close. Second place went to a painting with a score of 24.

Species chosen for the 2012-13 competition are Brant, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Canada Goose, and Common Goldeneye.