When it comes to carving birds for hunting, I like carving contented birds. I think relaxed looking decoys are reassuring to birds looking at a decoy spread. A drake wigeon was a natural for this kind of treatment - there are lots of photos on the internet of colored up, tucked head drake wigeon, so I had to carve one. We get a lot of wigeon on Thief Lake, and they are a good addition to any spread - even one that's primarily divers, since wigeon will often sit with divers.

You can tell from the mud that this bird has already spent a couple of seasons in the decoy bag and on the marsh. It's a pretty standard treatment of a hollow, self-righting northern white cedar body, basswood head and weighted oak keel.  He's painted in acrylics.