UGLY MUSCOVY DUCK
Okay, so I was doing my usually morning run around Toogood Pond yesterday (except I wasn't running because it felt too hot, but that's besides the point). Anyway, I saw the blue heron that lives there and stood around watching it for a few minutes, which got kinda boring after a while b/c a)it was far away and I couldn't see it very well, and b)herons have infinite patience. They stand in the same spot for like ever when they're fishing. So, I decided to get closer to it, and when I was exploring that general area, I came upon the UGLIEST duck I've ever seen! And by an off-chance, I happened to have my camera handy so I whipped it out and took pictures of it (It looked really pissed and seemed to wanna bite me so I left). It was soooo UGLY! It's body was about the size of a Canada goose, but it looked much heavier, it had a pretty thick neck, poofy brown feathers, and this completely gross looking lumpy red mass on its face.
Later on when I picked up my sister from summer school, I took her to the pond to show her the ugly duck cuz I thought it was nesting (Is nesting the right word? Maybe incubating?) Anyway, I figured if it was sitting on eggs, it probably wouldn't move for a while. When we got there it was gone, although we saw another ugly duck, this one was white and not as big, but still big.
I said to my sister that it was the sad result of a wild night between a turkey and a duck, at which she promptly reminded me that different species can't possibly breed (which I knew of course!).
Anyway, I don't know how to put up my own pictures on lj (so if someone can teach me that would be awesome), so I've linked some pictures of the ugly duck. My sister showed it to all her friends who thought it was equally gross, and one guy found out that it is called a Muscovy duck, possibly a Muscovy Mule (this means it's a mutt). And it apparently poops in swimming pools, so if you have pools, make sure you check for Muscovy duck poop before you swim.
Although my sister's friend says that b/c it's from Florida, the climates probably not right for it and it will probably go back...UNLESS...we continue to have warm summers and it keeps coming back. GAH! I wish it'll just stay where it's from cuz it completely freaks me out...as this lj entry testifies since I've written a whole entry just about ugly muscovy ducks. Furthermore, my vocabulary has disintergrated due to my shock at its ugliness cuz I can't describe with any other words than ugly.
Here's the wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Duck
Look at the picture captioned "Young Muscovies" and the duck on the utmost right? You see how it's really ugly? Well, the one I saw was 10x uglier. If you're interested to see the one I saw, let me know an I will send you the picture through email.
Later on when I picked up my sister from summer school, I took her to the pond to show her the ugly duck cuz I thought it was nesting (Is nesting the right word? Maybe incubating?) Anyway, I figured if it was sitting on eggs, it probably wouldn't move for a while. When we got there it was gone, although we saw another ugly duck, this one was white and not as big, but still big.
I said to my sister that it was the sad result of a wild night between a turkey and a duck, at which she promptly reminded me that different species can't possibly breed (which I knew of course!).
Anyway, I don't know how to put up my own pictures on lj (so if someone can teach me that would be awesome), so I've linked some pictures of the ugly duck. My sister showed it to all her friends who thought it was equally gross, and one guy found out that it is called a Muscovy duck, possibly a Muscovy Mule (this means it's a mutt). And it apparently poops in swimming pools, so if you have pools, make sure you check for Muscovy duck poop before you swim.
Although my sister's friend says that b/c it's from Florida, the climates probably not right for it and it will probably go back...UNLESS...we continue to have warm summers and it keeps coming back. GAH! I wish it'll just stay where it's from cuz it completely freaks me out...as this lj entry testifies since I've written a whole entry just about ugly muscovy ducks. Furthermore, my vocabulary has disintergrated due to my shock at its ugliness cuz I can't describe with any other words than ugly.
Here's the wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Duck
Look at the picture captioned "Young Muscovies" and the duck on the utmost right? You see how it's really ugly? Well, the one I saw was 10x uglier. If you're interested to see the one I saw, let me know an I will send you the picture through email.