Less is More, Part One
No need to go overboard when you want to fool ducks.
I've tried to make this swimmer decoy look like a duck going somewhere in a hurry, perhaps on the way to join the rest of his flock on the water. Sometimes I'll reverse-anchor a couple of swimmers to look like ducks that have landed downwind of the rig and are swimming back in to join it.
His head is similar to the one used in my carving demonstration, "Headlines," published in the Summer 2000 issue of Wildfowl Carving Magazine. Topographical names are in accordance with Kortright, The Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America.
As far as decoys go, this swimmer greenhead is relatively simple. I haven't undercut the wing feathers in the slightest; they lie flat against the body. The primaries and tertials appear as a single unit and follow the contours of the outer scapulars. Emergent lines define the shape and location of topographic features.
This article is from the Fall 2011 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.