Angling Trust Cormorant Scaring Scarecrow Mannequin Hampshire Avon

This was an unusual assignment

Substituted for a mannequin that's pretending to be a human that's helping to humanely keep the cormorants away from angling fish stocks.

The angling trust have these scarecrow mannequins dotted around the country to simulate a human presence, but the cormorants are clever birds, and after a while, when they've deduced that there is no threat, they become acclimated to the mannequins and ignore them.

I was there to initially pretend to be one of the scarecrow mannequins, and then move so that the the cormorants would become wary again, and it seemed to work. The cormorants kept their distance and a couple circled around me, having a good look.

The narative:

This mannequin sits on the muddy riverbank not as a worker, but as a decoy deterrent, placed by the fishery to scare off cormorants. Its high-visibility orange and green outfit, upright posture, and presence of a dog statue amplify the illusion of human activity, which cormorants instinctively avoid.

This is a classic example of mannequin-as-wildlife-deterrent, where visual cues of motionless vigilance are enough to disrupt predatory patterns. The long black pole it holds mimics a shotgun, reinforcing the illusion of active human oversight.

• Strategic placement in high-risk feeding zones

• Bright PPE to simulate human presence

• Companion animal prop for realism

• holding a gun as behavioral mimicry

It’s theatrical, effective, and quietly mythic — a mannequin guarding the waters in service of the fish.