There’s been an odd duck over at Huyler House pond– on my first pass past, I could only see the white head out in the water.  I was on foot, without glasses, much less binoculars, so I made a note of whatever I could see, and my first guess was that it was a Muscovy duck.  I raced home for some optics, and by the time I got back, Bobby was chuckling about there being a Muscovy duck right on the edge.

This is not a duck that could possibly be called beautiful.  Muscovy ducks are domesticated waterfowl, originally from South America and likely traded by early explorers to colonists.  They are appreciated for being quiet, and apparently tasty.  There are muscovy ducks on the ponds behind the Bi-Lo near the Ben Sawyer bridge, and I found this nest right outside the door of the nail salon over there.

It’s possible that the duck was somehow caught in one of the gusty winds from the storm and blown off course here.  His apparent lack of fear of humans and perhaps predators may mean he disappears soon.