Photo by Barry Feateringill
Geoff Auten of Sullivan is seen with a few of his homemade duck decoys, a hobby he has enjoyed for 15 years.

October 8, 2014

Duck decoys a passion for Auten

by Barry Featheringill
Sullivan Reporter

Sullivan resident Geoff Auten has a hobby that relates back to early waterfowl hunters: carving decoys. “I like to hunt and decided I’d like to make some water fowl decoys like the old-timers did,” said Auten, who has been carving for 15 years. “Taking a block of wood and carving it into the shape of a specific species of bird.”

It did not take long for early waterfowl hunters to discover that his arrows did not fly high enough to hit a flying bird. Early Native Americans discovered that it made sense to build some sort of decoy to attract fowl within shooting range. Taking cattails, bulrush and thule plants, they fashioned decoys to lure the birds to within range of their bow & arrow.

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