About Don Stewart, Creator of Cow Harbor Decoys

Don Stewart carved his first decoy in 1952, while in high school, under the tutelage of Don Selchow, who had won Best in Show at the Grand Central Decoy Show.

Don studied taxidermy under Mr. Selchow, and carved more than one hundred fifty decoys while in high school. He later studied conservation at Cornell University, and was degreed from Adelphi University, Garden City, New York.

Don Stewart was a duck hunter for over twenty years, until population pressures closed most local areas to gunning.

Don studied Long Island decoy making and waterfowling informally with many elderly friends who were around during the pre-1918 era and knew the methods, decoys, and birds that were in use at the time. (Many of those quarry and methods are now illegal.) Shorebird gunning and brant were closed seasons in the early 1900's.

The 1968-69 Great South Bay Waterfowlers Decoy Show yielded Don three ribbons out of six entries.

Don's decoy designs and paint patterns were derived from mounted specimens and live observation.

In the 1950's the gunning season started about October 1^st, with sea ducks in Long Island Sound, and opened about November 1^st until early January in the bays, harbors, ponds, and marshes. Thus, a three-month season was enjoyed for hunting. The only specimens not brought to stool were canvasbacks, redheads, and widgeon which were found only in protected harbors and ponds that were closed to gunning.

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