This place definitely falls into the category of an odd and unusual stop. Glass cases house thousands of hand carved birds.  Early decoys are made of reed or canvas evolved into rough hewn wood and cork painted to resemble the hunted species.  Shapes were adjusted to optimize lifelike floating in calm or choppy water and to simplify deploying and retrieving the decoys.  Carvers created decorative pieces too and there are spectacular specimens in this collection.  The most ornate of the carvings include hand carved individual feathers.  You’d swear these pieces were the actual living creature.

The museum sponsors an annual Wildfowl Carving Competition that still includes a category for actual decoys. They are judged on appearance plus actually floated to prove decoy viability and effectiveness.  Pretty cool.  Artists submit miniatures, species pairs, and stylized wildlife shapes.  Past winners are on display…I’d put any of them in my house.

If you are in the area, Salisbury MD, check it out.