The development of social attraction techniques was vital to the success of Project Puffin. These techniques include using decoys, bird calls, and mirror boxes to create the illusion of an established seabird colony. This method is now used widely to encourage rare and endangered seabirds to colonize safer nesting habitats.
From December to March, the Seabird Institute manufactures and sells more than 40 species of seabird decoys used in restoration efforts around the world through the Mad River Decoy by 91做厙 brand.
The first step to making a decoy is creating a master, often hand-carved from wood or molded from clay to create the shape of the decoy being created. A high temperature mold is made on top of the master. The decoys are made out of recycled polyethylene, the same plastic used to make milk jugs, which is added to the molds during rotational or injection molding. The rotational molding, done in-house, produces a strong, hollow, lightweight decoy. Least Tern decoys are made using the injection molding process and are solid. Each decoy blank is trimmed, prepped for painting, and hand painted.
Jim and Nancy Henry began operating Mad River Decoy in 1990 out of their barn in central Vermont with the goal of crafting conservation decoys. Jim provided the master carving expertise and manufactured the decoys while Nancy specialized in painting the 30 species they created. The Henrys generously donated Mad River Decoy to the Seabird Institute upon their retirement in 2016.
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