Tag: muscovy

May 11th – Less hard to spot is Mrs. Muscovy, the Newtown One. Now feral, the flock she should have been part of has moved on, and this uncaged canard who escaped and subsequently survived nearly 18 months of canalside freedom is now a permanent fixture of the canal between Middleton Bridge and the aqueduct over the railway at Newtown.

When I passed this rather unique duck today, she was preening and bathing determinedly in the water, and making quite a splash.

And long may she continue to do so…

April 21st – Spent some downtime doing mechanical things on the bikes and then went for a test spin up to Chasewater. On the way, I noted that Mrs. Miuscovy, who escaped her domestic flock over 12 months previously, was still thriving on the canal despite her singular and peculiar habit of rarely moving from the towpath and adjacent patch of canal.

She’s a fascinating and resilient bird, and considering her fellow escapee was fox lunch soon after escape, the Newtown One’s survival is remarkable and to be commended.

A daring and delightfully eccentric duck.

January 15th – One of those horrible, headache-grey wet winter days when it never really seems to get light and never stops raining. I plodded out to Chasewater, after checking the waxwings were still at Silver Court. Their numbers had increased, but the light was way too poor to get pictures.

Chasewater was empty save for a few brave souls, and the cafes had closed early. I mooched for a bit, looking for interesting wildlife, but found none, not even the large white geese which seem to have been missing now for weeks. I hope they’re OK but I guess by now they’re very old and I think they may have passed away.

I noticed with some amusement that new signs have been erected about not feeding the birds near the fort (due to pollution in the gravel there) – and something looked odd about the spacing of the ‘s’ on ‘birds’ – and then I realised someone had hastily removed an apostrophe. On all of them. Oops.

Also, is that comic sans?

The canal route I took back to Brownhills on the other hand was quite interesting. In atrocious light I saw the goosanders again, and I wonder if I’d ever be able to get a decent photo of these odd birds. The two remaining Abbey Road ducks were out and about too, as was Mrs. Muscovy, but her photos were so poor as to be unusable.

An awful day to ride, but I did see some interesting stuff which at least made braving the elements worthwhile.

December 25th – Mrs. Muscovy was still in her favourite spot when I passed by. Still solitary and apparently contemplating. Escaped from the nearby smallholding, still resisting recapture, this funny fowl is inscrutable and something of a local canard celebrity.

I wished her a Merry Christmas, and after nearly a year on the run, bid the Newtown One another year of singular freedom.

December 11th – Nipping up to Chasewater to check out the Christmas Fair there, I spotted a familiar duck in the reeds near the Chase Road bridge.

It’s Mrs. Muscovy, the Newtown One. On the run (waddle) for nearly a year now, I thought the foxes must have had her as I’d not seen her for ages.

I’m glad to see this curious, singular, solitary duck is still with us.

August 20th – Something else I was pleased to note on my long, slow return was the portly, waddling form of Mrs. Muscovy, or the Newtown One, the duck that escaped from the flock at the smallholding by the canal between the Lichfield Road and Chase Road bridges. 

Defying all attempts to return her to the comfort and security of a kept flock, this steadfastly singular duck likes a spot just by the aqueduct at Newtown, from which to watch the world go by.

I had thought the local fox had made lunch of her, but she appears to be fit and well. Which is good news, really.

July 9th – Finally for today, and for TheStymaster, Denis Jones and others, the Newtown One lives, and is still clearly a bit eccentric.

With the Abbey Road white ducks sadly down to two like the bachelor boys in Walsall Wood (the mallard cross group), it was feared the foxes had claimed Mrs. Muscovy, but no, she’s just getting better at hiding.

She’s not a number, she’s a free duck!

March 19th – A late ride out to Chasewater, feeling a bit low. Cheered, however, to see the Newtown One, the Papillon of Brownhills, was still evading the attentions of both her mistress and Brer Fox. 

Go home, Mrs. Muscovy… there’s free food, other ducks and a warm roost in safety. And the drakes who chased you off are now in the freezer!

March 11th – The Newtown One. Like the Scarlett Pimpernell, they seek her here, they seek her there. Always within snatching distance, but always evading the grasp.

This bird has a safe roost, free food and company back home. But she appears to prefer contemplating silently life’s complexities at the canal side.

The saga continues…