Will Kirkpatrick's Decoy Shop

Knifemark Primitives

Nesting Piping Plover - 6 inches long, hand rubbed patina, rough hardwood base. $70.00 (Item #709) Put bird in bag

Because these sandpipers nest and rear their broods on lovely sandy beaches, they compete with sunbathers for these places, and because of their highly effective camouflage, are often crushed by vehicles and bare feet. So, over the years, these nesting areas have been fenced off by conservation groups. Piping plovers, once on the brink of endangerment, are now increasing in numbers.

This carving is the result of years of experience in reproducing the work of 19th century decoy carvers. However, it is not a reproduction; it is what I think an old carver might have created if he wanted to make a representation of a nesting plover. Of course, no there was no reason to make decoys for nesting birds and no old decoys of birds in nesting position have ever been found.

A favorite old bird book of mine (A Natural History of American Birds, by Forbush and May) lists common names used by local baymen in its monographs. These names, taken together, are descriptive of the birds in a quaint, free verse way: Beach Bird, Butter Bird, Clam Bird, Mourning Bird, Pale Ring-neck, Peep-lo, Dee-o, Feeble.

Nesting Piping Plover

This is a new group of Will's own original decoy designs created with the tools, methods, and sensibilities of 19th century decoy carvers and market hunters. The earliest decoys are often found with the maker's knife marks left intact. Craftsmen believed the marks added a texture of realism. Smoothing was not needed or desired. Today, knife marks indicate a truly hand-carved object. Machines cannot give the effect. Four birds are from the main catalog, although three have been redesigned. The rest are brand-new creations. All are made from two inch stock and all feature distressed finishes

  1. Ruddy Stone-turner - 7-1/2 inches long; tack eye. $75.00 (Item #934) Put bird in bag
    These richly colored birds are named for their eating habits. Their old common names, such as Chicken-bird, Chicken-plover, Sea-quail, and Salt-water Partridge, give us an indication of the bird's own table qualities.
  2. Godwit - 13-1/2 inches long. $75.00 (Item #932 ) Put bird in bag
    An up-curved bill and a dark aspect are the field marks of this rare shorebird. They fly a circular migration route down the Atlantic coast in the fall migration and up the Mississippi valley in the spring.
  3. Dowitcher - 11 inches long. .$75.00 (Item #931) Put bird in bag
    Old time bay men collectively called these birds and other red breasted shorebirds, "Robin Snipe". Dowitchers enjoy protected inner beaches and sand flats. Instead of dodging the beach wash, they will wade and swim.
  4. A Peep Asleep - 6 inches long..$65.00 (Item #935) Put bird in bag
    This Least Sandpiper is enjoying a high tide nap; while, for a half hour or so, the waves cover his food supply.
  5. Yellowlegs - 6 inches long $75.00 (Item #933) Put bird in bag
    This is Will's idea of what a perfect 19th century Yellowlegs decoy should be. This runner would have been used with standing and feeding birds to give a "set" realism.
  6. Prairie Pigeon (Golden Plover) - 9 inches long; tack eye. $75.00 (Item #937) Put bird in bag
    After the Civil War, gigantic flocks of Golden Plovers migrated North in the Mississippi River valley alongside huge flocks of Passenger Pigeons. Market hunters harassed these birds relentlessly to satisfy the demands of growing urban populations. The Passenger Pigeon and the Eskimo curlew did not survive, but the Golden Plover did and has been increasing its numbers since.
  7. Summer Sanderling - 6-1/2 inches long. $60.00 (Item #936) Put bird in bag
    These small shorebirds decoy invade our beaches in August and their number build as October looms. Even today, these birds come readily into a few decoys set up near a beach blanket and entertain us with their antics..
  8. Primitive Preener - 8 inches long: tack eyes.;$90.00 (Item #3) Put bird in bag
    Old decoys made in this posture are rarely seen and highly treasured by decoy collectors today. This Lesser Yellowlegs will feel a lot better after her invigorating scratch.
  9. Wahquoit - 9 inches long: $75.00 (Item #938) Put bird in bag
    Early bay-men used the bird's call, not an obscure indian word for the Red Knot's nickname. So now we know the derivation of Waquoit Bay on the Cape's South shore, and can imagine the huge flocks that once tarried there.
  10. White Snipe - 7-1/2 inches long: $70.00 (Item #939) Put bird in bag
    In the fall the Sanderling becomes the whitest of the sand pipers. True "sand children", they love a storm ravaged beach where fresh food is constantly thrown to them by violent waves.

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