Photo of the Day: A Muscovy in Prospect Park

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
morning, keeping a lookout across the lake to Duck Island, there was
concern. There had been no appearance of Mrs. Muscovy who had
been nesting since late May (right after the Mute Swan cygnets were
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.