It’s been a couple of months since we’ve seen our local muscovy duck in East Dodgeville, but he returned this week with a new companion. Emboldened by numbers, they proceeded to chase me around the yard:
The muscovy posse is gonna run you down.
They’re more or less fearless of people and given the way that they ran after me, they obviously thought that some tasty food was going to pop out of my camera. If I needed evidence that they’re farm escapees, that would be it. They settled for munching on a patch of garden instead.
They’re both about the same size so I can’t tell if they’re a male/female pair or just a couple of dudes out for an adventure. Either way, I’m pretty sure that the one on the right in the pictures is the same one that first visited us in the spring. I’m glad that he has a fellow fugitive to hang out with now. With luck, instinct will kick in soon and they’ll start heading south.
Best be careful, looking so plump this close to Thanksgiving.
You talking to me? You talking to me?
Both males, both probably young, full white wing patches at 18 month molt. Look to have the whitehead mutation. Muscovies are known for flying around rather than away. Even the wild version does not migrate. Domestic version seems to be especially localized. Plop them in a place and they will stay there and not wander too far. Somebody nearby (neighbor?) probably has them or they were dropped off at the lake. Definitely used to humans as 2-legged food-dispensing creatures. They survive cold well as long as they have food and shelter from wind. Ours in Iowa survived weeks of below zero Celcius weather and wind because they had shelter (we fed corn in cold weather).
Thanks for the info, Doug. We have a lot of farms nearby, including some hobby farms right on the lake, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they just take occasional day trips away from home. If nothing else, they’re both very well fed. I’m sure that someone will feed and shelter them if they hang around for the winter.