Rocking head decoys

Roy Weatherby

Roy Weatherby

Active member
Hey all....Does anyone have any pictures of some old Gus Wilson rockers,rockers someone else has made...or maybe someone has a rocker project going on right now?
 
book...he has a complete section on the decoy you are asking about......step by step instructions with photos attached......worth the price of the book, or the effort to locate one to study, if you are interested in making a "rocker head" decoy.....

Keith posted a picture of one of his in one of his first threads here......made me want to make one....seeing it in the book made me realize that I'll need help...but it also makes it obvious to me that if I can get with someone that is good with angles and curves and has something other than "nerf tools" so that he doesn't kill himself trying that it would be made much easier than going it alone......


Steve
 
Somewhere in a box I think I have a rocker head buffie that my dad's old friend Steve Hopkins made and never finished painting. I have to get over to see Steve. I think he's around 85 or so now and not carving so much anymore. Better yet, I should drag my dad up to see him for a few hours. Anyway, I'll see if I can find it.
 
hey all....Ive got Keiths book.....im in the process of making a goldeney and a white wing...Just looking for a little more inspiration :D
 
Just to show off my total ignorance, what is the purpose of the "rocking head"? Does it flop fore and aft with the waves? I don't see a counter weight to keep the head vertical as the decoy body rides the waves. Does it simply allow you to adjust the fore/aft angle when you set it out? I think the actual carving is neat but I have trouble seeing the benefit of a flaccid head.

Seriously what up with the rocking?
 
thats a hoot....if I ever make one thats what I'll call it.......

Basically its a non-motorized moto duck without the spinning wings or the stick up its butt.....as such its not considered "NASTY" if you have one in your spread......

Seriously its a "motion decoy" that relys on nature to give it its movement......sort of like a rocking horse....make it correctly and once you get it moving its like a rocking chair....

Now the people that think that Eiders are the second dumbest waterfowl in the World, (Brant being first if you believe what many people here feel about them), can loudly proclaim that its totally unneccesary to have that type of movement in an Eider spread, cause, after all, they will decoy to milk bottle painted Black, but it would be hard to debate that having one in the rig would be neat as all get out.....if for no other reason than to be able to say that you made it........

BTW if its not obvious I'll state that I'm not one of the people that think that Brant, or Eiders, are "stupid"......

Steve
 
Thanks Steve!

I have never had the luck to find any stupid eider but I keep hoping :^) While Brant haven't impressed me with their great intelligence, they do impress me with their flight, calls and thoughts of the great distance they've come to winter here. Being born and raised in the arctic doesn't teach them a lot of fear of man, it's too bad some read that as stupidity. Kind of like grouse. North ME they don't have much fear. Down here if you put one up you have a split second to get a shot off otherwise it's behind a tree. Same bird just a different education.

Best,
Scott

PS: Woodcock hit town today. The swamp my house backs up to is full of them tonight. Two just about took my hat off when I was out with Marsh at dusk. What a great time of the year!
 
"niave", or, "uneducated"......stupid though I won't buy into and if I did I sure wouldn't be hunting whatever it was......can't imagine spending the time, effort and money necessary to kill something "stupid"....whats the point? Clearly "different strokes".....

Wish I was where there were Woodcock....spring and fall......

Steve
 
BTW if its not obvious I'll state that I'm not one of the people that think that Brant, or Eiders, are "stupid"....

Amen to that!

They are what I like to call 'socialable' ducks. I think they just naturally like to be in with the 'group', so that is why they decoy so easily. Just my thoughts.

And yes, a 'rockin' head' would be sweet to have bobbin' in the spread.
 
What is the title of Keith's book and where can I purchase one? I love decoy books.....have an old one..How to make wooden decoys by George Ross Starr, Jr., MD. I believe he was also from Conn.

Zane
 
Roy,

Here is an image of one of Mr. Wilson's "rocking head" black duck decoys. Can't wait to see your goldeneye and white wing you are working on.....would you post some images of them as you are working on them? That would be a great post to see the birds coming together. I know I have more images of other Wilson "rocking heads" if I can locate them I will post them for you.

On another note.....As far as the issue of the "intellectual prowess" of sea birds...especially the afore mentioned eiders and brant, I think of them to be very "street smart". After spending most of my professional career in their company observing and understanding, I would consider them highly intelligent. Taking into consideration the environment that they have evolved to live within; the sea.....that alone shows me that their ability to survive and "carve out a living" (sorry- I couldn't pass up the pun) from the most severe of environments is noteworthy. Watching eiders diving and feeding within the abrasive boulders of dangerous reefs with the added complication of strong tidal currents and crashing surf for a crab, mussel or urchin meal leaves me in awe everytime I watch this happen. I always try to figure out what the bird is "thinking (by instinct or reason)" when it is diving for food in those conditions. I once got into a lengthly discussion with a marine biologist regarding this very issue. he was interested in my hypothesis regarding the food selections of eiders when they are on the bottom of their dive.....my thoughts being they would select the food item by opportunity....(whatever was available at the bottom of the dive). His was different, this biologist was inspired by my thoughts and he thought differently....maybe the bird selected the food items by the nutritional value and what the bird needed in its diet. He believed that the eider would select the crab if it was lacking in a certain vitamin, mineral or compound in its diet, and the same went for the mussel, periwhinkle, urchin, or fish. With that in mind, that shows the underestimated intelligence of the bird alone.

I agree with Steve and Capt. Brian.....these birds are very sociable, that is part of their natural history. Because of their social nature I look beyond the "decoyability" of the birds to identify their intelligence. These birds have evolved and adapted to a specific environment one with many "other" dangers and stress'. Maybe part of their evolution will be to evaluate a decoy spread......that would be interesting!! Then we would all have to carve our own decoys!!! :) :)


View attachment rkb1.jpg

View attachment rkb1.jpg
 
I've got to ask. What happens to the shell? I gathered they have no means of cracking them open prior to swallowing, but dang she could barely choke it down. Must be one heck of a digestive tract that can process the hard shell. How large is the Eider anus :)
 
Last edited:
Eric,

They crush the shell in the gizzard. There's an interesting trade-off when eating shellfish. The ratio of shell:meat increases with size, as does the ratio of water:meat. When feeding on clams, the water in the clam will be at a low temp, so the thermoregulatory cost is large if the bird ingests too much water:meat. Often times, they are taking intermediate sized shellfish comapred to what they could eat, although that juvie drake sure seems to be pushing the limit!

Clint
 
Eric, Thanks to Clint for that very interesting information.

I used to examine the stomach contents of all the eiders I and other hunters collected for a waterfowl biologist friend who was doing an independent study. Most of the eiders contained small gravel in their gizzards that aid in breaking down the shells of molluscs, crabs and echinoderms such as urchins. He explained to me that the gravel helps grind the shells and hard material into very small particles that pass easily through the digestive tract. Imagine trying to swallow this huge green crab carapace? This eider was determined....it took him nearly five minutes to get it down.

View attachment Resized_IMG_4327.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top