Feral ducks?

[CombNWattles]

I’m curious about the phenomenon of ‘feral ducks’ in parks. Where do they come from? Do they migrate in winter?

These are in Texas. We don’t really have them in Vermont.

^I’ve named this one Old Bubbler

 

[CombNWattles]

I’ve seen what appear to be Cayugas, Magpies, and Appleyard as well as Muscovy and various wild ducks. There are also domestic geese.

 

[nuthatched]

People buy babies for Easter and the dump them.

 

[KathiQuacks]

Yeah, this is unfortunately one of the biggest problems in the duck world.

Either they were dumped there, or they were born from ducks who were dumped there. Many domestic ducks are not capable of flight, and even if they are, they won’t understand the concept of migration.

 

[CombNWattles]

That is so sad! They seemed fairly happy and healthy, but I will be curious to see how they do through the winter.

 

[CombNWattles]

Here is old bubbler resting:

So ugly he’s cute

 

[ruthhope]

Here is old bubbler resting:
View attachment 3979086

So ugly he’s cute

He's a fine muscovy drake. Of all the dumped ducks, muscovy and domestic mallards seem to survive best when dumped. This results in feral colonies across the sunbelt (and in the UK.) Those muscovy that have been feral for several generations where I am in NE Florida seem to revert back to being generally black with just a little white on their wings. They are less heavy than domestic muscovy and fly. They also fly in for the breeding season and out again for the winter. I don't think they are migrating. I think they are going to nearby woods. They roost in trees like wood ducks.

Texas is interesting because genuine wild muscovy from Mexico are extending their range naturally into Texas. They do migrate back to Mexico in the winter. Those genuinely wild muscovy are genetically identical to feral muscovy as muscovy have only been domesticated for a couple of hundred years and haven't yet genetically diverged from wild muscovy .

I'm a big lover of muscovy and think they get a lot of uneducated bad press. The wild muscovy migrating from Mexico are particularly shakily treated as the Migratory bird act doesn't seem to be applied to them. The Migratory bird act isn't enforced for feral muscovy in Florida.

 

[CombNWattles]

He's a fine muscovy drake. Of all the dumped ducks, muscovy and domestic mallards seem to survive best when dumped. This results in feral colonies across the sunbelt (and in the UK.) Those muscovy that have been feral for several generations where I am in NE Florida seem to revert back to being generally black with just a little white on their wings. They are less heavy than domestic muscovy and fly. They also fly in for the breeding season and out again for the winter. I don't think they are migrating. I think they are going to nearby woods. They roost in trees like wood ducks.

Texas is interesting because genuine wild muscovy from Mexico are extending their range naturally into Texas. They do migrate back to Mexico in the winter. Those genuinely wild muscovy are genetically identical to feral muscovy as muscovy have only been domesticated for a couple of hundred years and haven't yet genetically diverged from wild muscovy .

I'm a big lover of muscovy and think they get a lot of uneducated bad press. The wild muscovy migrating from Mexico are particularly shakily treated as the Migratory bird act doesn't seem to be applied to them. The Migratory bird act isn't enforced for feral muscovy in Florida.

Thanks, very informative.