Duck, Duck, Odd Duck!

Today was Monday and I had the day off of work. My car was in the shop however so I hadn't quite planned on getting to the park. But earlier in the afternoon, my friend Ron (a talented birder and photographer) called me to say he'd seen a Duck today at PLP that I might be interested in –a Muscovy Duck! This is a species I've never seen before, much less at the park. So I kind of paced back and forth at home for a while, hoping I might hear about my car soon. As luck would have it, they called and I nearly ran down the street (the shop is only blocks from my house) with my camera in hand. As I hastily signed the paperwork, I told the woman at the desk that I was going to go over the park and hopefully track down this odd duck to photograph it. She must've thought I was crazy - LOL! I drove over quickly to the area of the park where Ron had spotted it –in the "duck pond" on the southeast corner. But when I got on the trail I didn't see ANY ducks anywhere. I decided to walk quietly along the wood chip trail alongside the pond, hoping maybe it was huddled up with some Mallards further up. But then I heard something scurrying very near the water only feet away from me. I stopped, waited and lo and behold there it was! The duck was all by itself but it was definitely not afraid of me. Muscovy Ducks –around here anyway– are not a wild breed, but rather a domesticated duck. They are commonly raised on farms and are only 1 of 2 ducks that have been domesticated, the other being the Mallard. The photos I've seen before of this species have shown the bird to have quite large and ugly folds of skin around the head and bill much like a Wild Turkey. But this bird didn't have that and was actually quite beautiful. He eventually made his way back into the water and seemed to "befriend" a pair of Northern Shovelers that were also here in the pond. He dwarfed the Shovelers, appearing to be almost a full 2x their size. I hadn't quite realized how big he was until then and again later when some other Mallards came near. He seemed content to hang around the banks of the pond, drinking some water by scooping it up and tilting his head back. Here I got great views of his colorful blue back side. I have no idea what might have brought this duck to PLP. Had it escaped from a farm? Was it possibly released here by someone who no longer wanted him? He certainly did seem to be the odd duck out though as he continued to approach other Mallards only to have them quickly move away from him. Later at home I read up some on the Muscovy Duck. Apparently they can be seen at the MN State Fair but that is one place I typically try to avoid.