Muscovy duck flew off. Will she come back?

[Scovyfive]

So I pulled a stupid and when I clipped my girls' wings after molting I only clipped a few feathers. I thought I would clip more if I thought they might get out of our yard. Every morning they fly 100 feet or so to where the food is and the rest of the time they are just content to waddle around.
Last night I was missing a girl at dusk. I finally found that she had cleared the fence into the neighbor's yard. I saw her over there but before I could get the neighbor's attention their dog spotted my girl and chased her and she immediately flew off again.
My son and I walked around the neighborhood for an hour and no sign of her. This morning we walked all the neighborhoods around in the area that I had seen her go but didn't find her. After we came home I actually went in the opposite direction and found her in a vacant lot. She however would not let me get too close and flew off again ( she's very skittish). I drove to about where I figured she would have set down but did not see her.
I'm wondering if she knows where home is. When I did find her she was just two lots away. Does she know where she lives? We have a half acre and there are some empty lots around of 1/2 to 1 acre that might attract her, but there are also lots of little neighborhoods around with small yards and dogs.
Is there anything I can do to attract her back here? Her food, water and flock are here, but she hasn't come home.

I was thinking about laying a big blue tarp out on the snow. She might think it was water and come check it out. On the other hand it might make this place look unfamiliar and scare her away. What do you guys think?

 

[Brooke_R]

So I pulled a stupid and when I clipped my girls' wings after molting I only clipped a few feathers. I thought I would clip more if I thought they might get out of our yard. Every morning they fly 100 feet or so to where the food is and the rest of the time they are just content to waddle around.
Last night I was missing a girl at dusk. I finally found that she had cleared the fence into the neighbor's yard. I saw her over there but before I could get the neighbor's attention their dog spotted my girl and chased her and she immediately flew off again.
My son and I walked around the neighborhood for an hour and no sign of her. This morning we walked all the neighborhoods around in the area that I had seen her go but didn't find her. After we came home I actually went in the opposite direction and found her in a vacant lot. She however would not let me get too close and flew off again ( she's very skittish). I drove to about where I figured she would have set down but did not see her.
I'm wondering if she knows where home is. When I did find her she was just two lots away. Does she know where she lives? We have a half acre and there are some empty lots around of 1/2 to 1 acre that might attract her, but there are also lots of little neighborhoods around with small yards and dogs.
Is there anything I can do to attract her back here? Her food, water and flock are here, but she hasn't come home.

I was thinking about laying a big blue tarp out on the snow. She might think it was water and come check it out. On the other hand it might make this place look unfamiliar and scare her away. What do you guys think?
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I would think she’ll fly back. I hope so

 

[The Duck Dad]

does she have any close friends? if she does, she will very likely come back

my mallard always comes back after flying away to be with her sister.

My wood duck though, she will wander off for hours, and nobody knows where is the world she is, but at dark, i'll be working in the garage, and all of a sudden she will be right next to me. she always finds a way to sneak off, but still comes back.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If she is flying around the neighborhood she may see your other Muscovy and return. Lets hope she doesn't land in a yard with dogs that will go after her. If you have a body of water close by I would look there too. I was able to capture a dumped rooster at our church by taking one of my hens in a dog crate and set up a dog x pen with her inside the crate in the pen. The rooster walked right in and I was able to grab him.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

I hope your beautiful girl flies home soon! Please update when you can

One of my Muscovy girls flew off after being startled this past spring. I live in a heavily wooded area with a beaver brook running through the property. She was able to find her way home ok, of course only once I got frustrated and went home (after following her through the forest shaking a bag of mealworms for hours while she flew from tree top to tree top). I would guess that your girl knows where she lives, but became disoriented when she was frightened. Hopefully, she will calm down and realize how badly she misses her home and her sisters!

 

[The Duck Dad]

if you have a loud speaker(s), hook it up to your phone or computer and play continuous Muscovy noises very loudly and she might hear that and come back. I call wild ducks like that all the time, and they fly and land on the lake i live on to see what is going on.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Is there ponds nearby? If so she probably fly to one of them. I had a drake fly away and he was gone for 8 months till I got him back. Try and get her back ASAP because if they get used to being in the wild, they don’t do good going back to captivity.

 

[The Duck Dad]

i found these videos, you can make a youtube playlist and put these three in it, or if you find better ones, and there is a "loop" button, and it will keep playing.

 

[Scovyfive]

Wow everyone, thanks for all the replies and encouragement. I'm very hopeful she will return.
She is a bit of the odd duck out, never quite found her place in the flock.
Today I shoveled out a patch of snow down to the grass about 12x30 in our backyard. I filled the area with several black tubs the birds bathe in, a couple of sleds and lids to totes. I filled them all with 1" of water. My hopes are that the water will catch the light and attract her if she flies over. My other ducks got all excited by the tubs and had a good old time. And yes, they managed to take a bath in 1" of water and ice up their feathers
Fortunately the next couple days are suppose to be above freezing.

Thanks for the suggestion about playing Muscovy sounds. I will do that too. Please say a prayer for her. I hate the thought of her out in the cold alone.

 

[raingarden]

Most wanderers turn themselves in when they get hungry.