The exhibit of bird decoys on display at the MAFAC gallery in Marshall doesn’t only have ducks and geese. There are a variety of birds from around the country, like a carved blue jay.

MARSHALL — There have been a lot of different kinds of art on display at the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council gallery. But even with that history, the gallery’s current exhibit is unusual. Carved wooden birds of all sizes are grouped together around the room.

“We’ve never had a decoy exhibit,” said MAFAC board member Charlotte Wendel. “Nobody’s seen this many in one place, I’m sure of it.”

Wendel said the display is made up of bird decoys from her own collection and the collection of Scott Kuecker, and features some birds made by well-known woodworkers. The decoys will be on display until Aug. 8.

Wendel said she has collected decoys for many years. “I’ve done this since I was 14 years old,” she said. She grew up near Chesapeake Bay, and saw many of the birds represented in the collection in her own backyard. Over time, she said, she’s added to her decoy collection. “I try to get them in every state.”

Wendel said there are a total of more than 90 decoys in the exhibit. “These birds come from all over the country,” she said.

Some of the decoys on display have southwest Minnesota connections. Several birds were carved by Dave Taylor. “He’s one of the more well-known wood carvers in the area,” Wendel said. The decoys carved by Taylor come from the collection of Scott Kuecker, she said.

While there are plenty of ducks, geese and other waterfowl in the exhibit, many of the carvings aren’t typical hunting decoys. There are decoys of a wide variety of bird species, from loons to songbirds. One carving, of a sandpiper, is posed as if it is preening its feathers. Wendel said the artist, Jerome Howes, is known for his bird decoys.

In getting the exhibit together, Wendel said she tried to group the carvings together by type, and add some decoration to make it seem more like the birds are in their natural habitat. But she said she mainly hoped people enjoyed the carvings themselves.

“I just want people to see how beautiful they are,” Wendel said.