Delbert Daisey

Who is Delbert Daisey?

Delbert Daisey, known as Cigar Daisey, is an American waterfowl wood carver. He lives and works in Chincoteague, Virginia and is the resident carver at the Refuge Waterfowl Museum. His decoy carvings are recognized for both their artist value and functionality as working pieces for waterfowl hunting. His works include Black Ducks, Mallards, Redheads, Ruddys and Red-breasted Mergansers and often crafted in drake and hen pairs. He has carved about 1900 ducks in total and he generally uses cork or wood as his medium. He carved his first duck out of balsa wood in 1940 at his father's wood shop. The Smithsonian has his works in their collection. He earned his nickname in 1945 while leaving cigar butts to taunt game wardens while poaching ducks on Assateague Island. Later in life, Daisey was an avid conservationist.

The best decoy he has ever made was a pintail he made in 1973 for a present for his wife. That is the only fully decorative decoy he has ever made.The decoy was featured in National Geographic in June 1980 page 826. The decoy is estimated to be worth $150,000.