Seagull, Heron, and other 'Confidence' Decoys

 I guess that I should start out by saying every decoy is a 'confidence decoy' of sorts. In the sense that these blocks of wood display a scene that the intended prey see a flock of it's own kind. 'Nothing wrong here, just a flock a mallards eating corn in this field, let's go down and nibble a bit' is what the duck flying by would say if life was a Disney movie.

However, in collecting circles, the term 'confidence decoy' generally refers to 2-maybe 3 species of fowl. 

1st on that list of course would be the seagull. Seagull being a blanket term for for any Atlantic coast sky rat, most likely the Herring gull, Ring billed gull and Laughing gull.

                                                                     Labrador Gull Stick-Up

Perhaps because they're mostly a visible white (something a bird may notice passing by) they are supposed to, as stated above, give an air of 'nothing out of the ordinary here, fellow fowl' vibe.

Just a flock of scaups riding the Great South Bay waves, oh lookie here, a gull on the outskirts I guess the bait fish are out. 

I've heard of some people using their Gull 'coys as a sort of range finder. Maybe put that Ring Bill at 50 yards and so on. To each their own I suppose. 

At number 2, we have the Heron, or Crane. These wading birds are thought to be relatively cautious and easy to scare. During the 19th and dawn of the 20th century, these fowl where once over hunted for their plumage. Like many birds, they where nearly wiped out for decorations on fancy ladies hats. 

Most heron Decoys I've come across (excluding the modern plastic blow-mold variety) are typically made of a single or 2 part branch- root head style.

                                                       

Others are of the ' flattie' variety made of what ever wood was available. Most likely adorned with a 'root' or natural branch head whittled perhaps roughly, but  just enough to "fool the bird".

Here's an interesting Heron. Made of 2 broom handles, 2 wooden balls and a lobster pot buoy.

Like Gulls, these large decoys where placed off to the side, as a sort of garnish to the hunter's spread. Besides being highly visible (hell you'd notice a 3 foot white thing among a cattail and rheed back drop). Once again, presumably anyway, when a flock of black ducks would flay by a long island marsh, the sight of the large visible crane would give an "all clear" appearance to the duck's  birdy brain. At least in theory anyway.

Last but not least is #3. This is a sort of waste basket category.

 It boils down to what ever is in the area.

I've seen crows used on the beach, some people at least to have claimed to stick up some plastic curlew decoys along the beach (boy imagine a game wardens reaction to a rig of curlew decoys out in the mud. A hundred years too late there, buddy). Plastic Cormorant decoys are at least sold, and have been carved in the past. More than a handful of people chop out Common coot to vary their spread these days.

 

In the past confidence decoys could make the difference if you had food on the table. These days, sure maybe still but to a lesser extent. It's more of a marketing ploy in my mind now. Your run of the mill duck decoy rig bought on amazon are much more life like to the stool chopped out by hunters a hundred years ago. Do you really need that $50 dollar heron off to the side? Eh, if you got the dough to burn. You'll be looking at them all day why not.

To the collector I'd say confidence decoys are a sort of curiosity. Many people have decoys as decorations, whether they know it or not. That old mallard over the fire place, that decorative canvas back in the bathroom for what ever reason. Maybe you have a wine aunt that has some undescrypt shore bird snipe adorning her beach house. Every decoy collector has a duck. But do they have a floating puffin? or even a stick up similar to the puffin project? Any house by the shore could use a seagull on the shelf with some shells. It's a novelty. Maybe a particular carver only made a handful of gulls& just 3 Cranes, oo it's 'valuable'.  "Baby forget beanie babys, we got some rrreeal money here".

What where once considered Confidence decoys, these days are functional folk art. Floating sculpture by an anonymous American artisan. Reminders of a time long past. To others a pay check. And to some are just decoration. To each their own.