A passion for duck hunting and decoys

The Burchell collection comes to auction

*The Burchell Decoy Collection comes to auction on* *October 29* *at Miller & MIller.*

The late Peter Burchell was an avid duck hunter. He started hunting as a young boy in the late 1930s with his father and brother in Rideau Ferry just outside Perth, Ontario on Big Rideau Lake. The family still has the wooden shell box on which he wrote, "My first box of shells given to me by my father". An early Addie Nichol decoy was fastened to the top of the box for display, possibly passed down from his father for safekeeping.

This Addie Nichol decoy, along with many other Nichol family decoys will be featured as part of the late Peter Burchell collection in Miller & Miller Auctions’ Decoys sale on October 29th.

The passion for duck hunting and gathering decoys came naturally to this longtime Rideau Ferry resident. Well before the advent of commercial float tubes, Peter made his own tube arrangement for hunting on ponds, shallow lakes and swamps. It was constructed from two inner tubes attached to chest waders. He could set the decoy rig by floating or walking along the bottom to his desired location without needing a boat. Big Rideau Lake was an established duck hunting zone that saw many migratory birds. Being popular with local hunters, it was advantageous to seek out areas where most hunters wouldn't bother with the extra effort required to set up there. The inner tube system gave him access to remote areas away from other resident hunters, ensuring greater success.

Peter is pictured above with some of his rig in his homemade inner tube.

Peter’s working rig consisted of well over fifty Nichol family decoys of various species. The term rig is used to represent the number of decoys deployed at any one time depending on the species of duck targeted, and the location selected. He usually “rigged” the decoys as singles - that is, one line with anchor weight attached for each decoy. Decoys were tools of the waterfowl hunter. They needed to function correctly by staying where he placed them, stay upright, and look enough like the targeted species to entice them within shotgun range allowing the hunter to harvest the duck. There is no doubt that the Nichol family decoys functioned as intended. In addition, the combination of form, meticulous craftsmanship and outstanding artistic paint application has elevated these historical tools to highly valued “folk art” status.

An avid hunter, Peter had three daughters, so in fine fashion he occasionally took “the girls” duck hunting. Late season hunting took extra work, according to Nancy, one of Peter’s daughters. She has fond memories of sitting on the bow of the boat breaking ice with an oar so they could reach an island before sunrise to get set up. "Dad made our hunting trips exciting and we looked forward to them every fall," she says. There was always a thermos full of coffee and maybe a splash of rum (which her father called Nelson’s blood) to keep the chilly morning at bay.

Peter launching a decoy from his homemade tube.

Once the decoys were set—an art in itself—watching the ducks approach, gracefully gliding and settling into the spread, was a beautiful sight. Barb, another daughter, remembers her father whispering "mark," which meant freeze, don’t talk, don’t move—ducks were coming to the decoys.

Nancy also remembers stories from her parents’ dating years. Once when her mom was invited for dinner at her future in-law’s home in Perth, her soon to be mother-in-law served everyone a full duck on each plate, as Peter’s father and the boys had been hunting. When Nancy’s mom looked at it she wondered how on earth she was to tackle this entire bird on her plate. As she began to cut into the breast she came across a piece of lead shot. This was a whole new experience for her. “When we were young, ducks for dinner became a traditional meal in the fall, although we didn't have an entire duck on our plates,” she laughs.

A crate of Peter’s working decoys as found in the garage.

Peter Burchell's rig consisted of decoys given to him by friends, other hunters and those purchased from local decoy carvers. The upcoming Miller & Miller Auctions fall auction will feature a selection of decoys he bought directly from the Nichol family, based in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Many of the decoys were never used as a result of his early collecting. Decoys made by the Nichol family are well known and sought after collectibles from Eastern Ontario. Peter asked Davey Nichol to carve a working set of decoys, as well as another set to be kept for his special display. He collected decoys in the 1940s before they garnered the significant attention they receive today. He was well ahead of the curve for collecting decoys that really didn't take strong flight much before the late 1950s to early 1960s. He specifically asked Davey Nichol to carve some ducks that were not typically carved or used for hunting. This set was kept on shelves in the den of the family home. The working set was stored in wooden Weston bread crates for easier transport from his vehicle to his boat or into lakes.

Peter acquired many pieces directly from the renowned Nichol family of Smiths Falls, Ontario, whose decoys are highly sought after by collectors. The exmaples shown above are among those featured in the upcoming sale.

Nancy has fond memories of her dad when they got Bob, a black lab from somewhere out west. Bob became not only a phenomenal duck retriever but a wonderful companion for the family. She recalls her mother putting her sister Janice in the carriage outside for some fresh air while Bob sat guarding her the entire time. Her father bred and raised labs for a while himself, but none matched Bob. One day Bob got hold of one of Peter’s best decoys and left some heavy tooth marks in its head. Nancy has kept that decoy as a reminder of the collection and the signature Bob left behind. Over time Peter’s wife decided she’d had enough of large, wet, stinky dogs and wanted a poodle, which she got and named Oggie. Peter proclaimed he would not be walking or looking after any poodle. Well, Oggie and Peter became so close you rarely saw one without the other. That wee grey poodle had snuck into his heart.

Peter with his beloved family dog and hunting companion, Bob, following a successful hunt.

Peter had befriended the late Bernie Gates, the Canadian folk art expert who wrote the 1982 guide, Ontario Decoys. After one of his many visits to the Burchell family home, Bernie bought five of Peter’s decoys: a teal, widgeon, bufflehead, pintail and a wood duck. Some of these decoys are pictured in the volumes of Bernie's work, along with others from the Burchell collection. Many of his working rig decoys are identifiable by a large 'B' painted on the bottom. In later years Peter quit hunting and concentrated on wetland conservation. He enjoyed watching waterfowl and admiring his decoy collection. His was a life well lived and well played in so many ways.

Nancy remembers the home on Big Rideau Lake as being full of laughter, love, dogs, cats, kids and her wonderful parents. Parting with these decoys has been difficult for the family but they take comfort in knowing others who appreciate the craftsmanship, beauty and memories of days gone by will keep and admire them as they have.