Muscovy Duck

 

I am very excited. I got home from work tonight and Chris told me there had been a very odd duck in the pond all afternoon. He had just come back from the store and said we should go see if it was still around. Well sure enough, the oddest duck I have ever seen was swimming at the ponds edge and eating little grasses and diving down to eat weeds. He was very cool!! I naturally went to get the camera. At first I thought he might be after the fish... but they were all swimming around him, and he was just interested in the pond weed. I spent some time on google and he is for sure a Muscovy Duck. These ducks are the only ducks that are not from the Mallard family. These are originally from South America and have been spreading north and have been found in Canada. There is a domesticated Moscovy, but they have a lot of white, or are all white or have brown as well. The wild male also has a crown.. which this one would raise when I got close. So, my conclusion is that it is not a domesticated one.. but rather a wild one. I only hope it doesn't decide to try to eventually dine on our goldfish. Chris wonders if these ducks are tender and flavourful and can't wait to find out. He is dreaming of duck a l'orange, and Jake no doubt is as well. I looked it up and they are often used for foi gras but roasted they are much less fattier than regular ducks. If you click on the collage there is one photo with a good head shot.