Brownsville Station: 2020 Muscovy Ducks in Brownsville, Texas Resacas

Here's a post to introduce you to a flock of free roaming ducks I've taken a liking to. I seldom post anything about anything anymore even though I have plenty of historic material and time but maybe we'll get back to that later. For now, it's Muskovy Time:

Band of Brothers

I cant tell them apart and the main attraction, I call him "Blondie," isn't in here but he's my favorite.

Last year, around Thanksgiving, I lost my pet Chihuahua "Coqueta" which I had cared for a number of years. I had never liked chihuahuas before. I found them to be too noisy, antisocial rat-faced bat eared and ugly but she was sort of adopted when her owner, who married my nephew, decided she didn't want a vicious critter to be near her first born child. Long story short, I loved that dog and she loved to chase away the pesky ducks that would loiter in the backyard beneath the bird feeder hoping to scrape up some bird seed that fell to the ground.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

"Blondie" has a winning personality and is a drake in flock of about 15 Muscovy ducks

With my nephew's family grown to three children there was a reason to feed the ducks in the backyard -- because kids like any activity when it comes to feeding animals. We fed them bits of staling bread which we now know isn't good for them so please do not feed them bread. I'll throw a fews bits at them as a snack once in a while but not too much. More about feeding later....

This is "Blondie," so named for the Clint Eastwood character with no-name in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of which he possesses all three characteristics and because of the blondish feathers between the caruncles on his forehead. If it wasn't for him I might not have ever developed in interest in spending time with this so-called invasive species from South America. Covid19 also decided how time would be spent for a while so I decided to start feeding the flock birdseed every day.

Blondie and his pompadour. The ducks do this when they feel threatened or a bit apprehensive or probably when attracting a mate. For the time spent with them I can share a few observations but there is plenty of information about them you can search online. What follows is an introduction to other members of the flock. Not all their names are as imaginative as Blondie's.

Part of the Tribe

This is "Junior" who has become another favorite because (hopefully) I'll get to see him mature into a full grown male. He is one of three that survived hatching by May 2020. There were originally five when I first noticed them. Junior had me worried for a while. His foot was in bad shape and he could barely walk. Maybe he was bitten by a turtle or afflicted by some other ailment but he survived so far.

This is Junior's Mom - "Mommas" She was very protective of her ducklings when they were very young. Never being seen with the flock, she stayed safe on the resaca's edge hidden in bushes safe from hawks or other predators. Oftentimes I would feed her and the babies separate from the flock because the other ducks bully the young or weak ducks. If other ducks from another flock tried to insinuate themselves she ran them off.

"Blanca" is another female and was one of two red-faced / white headed ducks that often visited. I think the other died recently. It was sad to watch. I noticed one day that her counterpart was sitting a distance from the others during snack time. I threw some chopped corn tortilla bits her way and the other ducks crowded her and started picking (or pecking?) at her. Her feet looked malformed and she couldn't walk. Unfortunately, it seems, that if a duck is hurt or disabled for some reason, the other ducks will help bring about its demise in a cruel way. They tried to prevent Junior from eating when he his foot was hurt but I was able to protect him.

"El Negro" is also one of two. I can't always tell them apart. He is the disciplinarian of the flock. Oftentimes they crowd me during feeding time or come on the back porch and leave droppings. He knows I will withdraw and prolong feeding time if they leave a mess on the porch so he helps me keep them disciplined. These ducks are intelligent and possess qualities (personalities) all their own.

"Droopy" is a pretty-mellow fellow now but he was banished for a while from the flock -- I'm not sure why but I think he was becoming to aggressive with the others. These ducks seem to maintain a social order among themselves. Sometimes they have a leader or in this case, three (or four) brothers share leadership and dominance of the other group members.

The core members of the flock coming on to shore for a snack or what they associate with a snack when they see me. I tend to feed them infrequently so they don't expect me like clockwork. If I dont have food with me they will follow me, linger for a while and either feed off grass or look elsewhere for excitement or food. Sometimes they just lounge on the grass and chill with me. I never imagined I would enjoy their simple company but the loss of a pet and Covid19 pandemic do wonders for the soul I guess....

I always hear Wagner's "Flight of the Valkries" when I see them approach to see if I have food for them.

Feeding Time

Loitering under the bird feeder like they always do when they're not doing other duck stuff.

On any given day there's about fifteen to nineteen ducks. Once in a while other ducks join in for a free meal but I try to discourage them by running them off. The less dominant ducks also discourage intruders while the drakes make sure they take their place at the 'head of the table' (front of feeding area). They eat birdseed. The cheap $8 for a 20lb bag at H-E-B is good enough. For a while I had to go to Lowe's when there was a shortage and pay more for less quality of the same weight. They also like peas and chopped vegetables. They can be picky but with this many ducks the ones that aren't picky will eat better. In summer I gave them watermelon shavings. As a treat I chop corn tortillas into long spaghetti-like strips or chop them into little bits and feed them that. They love it and are always hungry but dont spoil them. Also, if you don't feed them for a while dont worry, they'll survive just fine. There's plenty of fodder for them in or near the resacas.

Bullying is a problem at times and I used to tolerate it but now I discourage it. If a duck is too aggressive with the others I run him off as a warning. These are not domesticated but they're trainable and change behavior if they realize they will miss out on free food if they dont behave.

When I first met Blondie he was not shy at all. He took food straight from my hand and he is the only duck that jumps for his food -- sometimes as high as four feet. Other ducks try to imitate his behavior but if he's around he takes front and center. At first he used to peck my knees while I tried to spread the feed around but I got tired of that so he doesn't do it anymore.

Duck Droppings

If there is anything you need to know about feeding these ducks is that they adopt you and expect you to feed them each day at the same time. I dont do that. I am not consistent with feeding time but one thing I had to do was train them not to wait on the back porch where they would leave droppings if I didn't feed them early enough. I put a stop to that. Whenever I'd get ready to feed them IF I saw droppings I'd withold feeding them by grabbing the garden hose and hosing away their mess all while cursing them and their next generation with expletives I dont need to repeat here but you can make up your own if you have this problem. It's all in the tone of the words you choose anyway. Then I would go back in the house and feed them maybe an hour later. After a while they learn to wait on the grass or feeding area like the photo above but you can expect them to push their luck again and then you'll have to bring out the hose. I also have an old broom handle nearby to discourage them from coming too close to cement edge of porch.