Wildlife rehabilitator Anne-Katrin Titze shared with us this photo of the male half of Prospect Park's Muscovy couple on July 16. She writes:
When I came upon Mr. Muscovy, aka the expectant father, yesterday
been nesting since late May (right after the Mute Swan cygnets were
morning, keeping a lookout across the lake to Duck Island, there was
concern. There had been no appearance of Mrs. Muscovy who had
hatched on May 25th from a nest off Duck Island) and now there were thick pervasive mats of Azolla surrounding the island.*
Muscovy hens incubate for 35 days and sit mostly still from day one on the nest.
While I was observing the male (drake), I heard what sounded like a
Mallard flying from across the water towards me. To my great delight, it was Mrs. Muscovy landing on the stone bank down about a hundred feet from where Mr. Muscovy was looking out. He was acting as a decoy for her.
Wednesday we heard from Titze that "Mr. and Mrs. Muscovy seen building a new nest this morning."
*Editor's note, Prospect Park Alliance spokesman Paul Nelson said in a recent article that once a week to ensure that water flows freely.
