The colony of Muscovy ducks that used to live around the marina in Hebden Bridge, and peaked at about six individuals, seems to have disappeared — but members of the species have managed to find St Helena, in the middle of the ocean. Why does the one on the right not have the same facial bulges as the other? I suspect, just because it’s younger. They grow their faces over time. As do we humans, of course.
First, there was the one Muscovy duck that took up residence at Hebden Bridge canal marina — this one. Then several more turned up (and had a few fights). But for a while now I have only seen one again, not the original one but this all-white one, which has made a couple of earlier blog appearances itself. The others have either died or moved on, leaving this one behind. Maybe it just likes it here. Or, maybe it is terribly lonely.
Another of Hebden Bridge’s resident birds makes a reappearance on the blog — 8/11/15 was the same Muscovy duck, for instance. Not that it looks very happy about it today. Perhaps it’s just glum about the gloomy weather, the same as the rest of us.
Little is happening in my life at the moment nor will do so for a few weeks yet, so in the absence of much other inspiration it’s helpful when one of the marina’s Muscovy ducks exhibits its natural tendencies to pose for the camera. It’s that innately smiley face that does it. They seem quite happy creatures in their little colony.
It’s been raining since about Friday morning, though did stop in the afternoon — a good thing seeing as the river was rising. Drove one representative of the local Muscovy duck colony off the water anyway; not that things were much less damp in town for it.
Off to Japan tomorrow. Forgive me if updates don’t arrive daily, at least for the next few days. There will be plenty to see I’m sure.
I am sure the Muscovy duck gets as much pleasure from a good solid self-probing like this as we do a good shower. I know this picture could be sharper but this was a long zoom on a very gloomy day. A decent, stress-free weekend, but not at all a sunny one: we are heading for deepest November, the dullest period of the whole year.
Wouldn’t you like your hair to be that carefully coiffed on a daily basis — particularly if you lived rough in the centre of town. I am sure this is Hebden’s original Muscovy duck, as opposed to one of the additional group that arrived last year — compare it to this shot for example. Which puts it ahead of Tara the pub dog as the first animal to appear five times on the blog (and only four people, including myself, have appeared more often).
The muscovy ducks on the marina were getting aggressive this afternoon. Two began fighting, I assume over the third, all-white one (a female?) visible in the background of this shot, looking on while the battle she has provoked rages in her honour. Couldn’t alter the camera settings quickly enough to have a chance of capturing the shot with any sharpness, considering how fast they were moving in the low light. But what gets me about it is their placid-looking smiley faces, which here persist even when a rival is pecking on one’s back.
In recent months the Muscovy duck which has featured several times on this blog has been joined by four more, all said to have escaped (or been deliberately released) from a duck farm nearby — which is probably where the ‘original’ one came from as well, as this species is not native to Europe. However, if there are both boys and girls in the flock now, who knows, perhaps we could start a whole new Yorkshire colony. This is one of the newer ones, taking a drink on a Saturday afternoon.
It is over two years since this creature set up home in Hebden Bridge marina, first appearing on the blog in February 2012. As I have observed before, it is a long way from its natural home. I saw it standing outside the entrance to the tourist information office this afternoon, and thought at first that it was after food or something, but looking at this shot I wonder whether it might not just have been finding company in its reflection. This is the Muscovy duck’s fourth appearance on the blog (the remaining unlinked one is here) — few people have been on it as often.
Being 42 