This is the other one! A totally different colour and a bit smaller than my original Muscovy but I have since been informed that this one is also a dude. I think because of the face markings (females have less red, apparently). I’m so curious about how they came to be here, because they sure as hell weren’t there in the spring time. I’d have noticed.

Since rebooting my river walks (again) I have noticed this guy sitting on the bank of the canal. In fact, in the exact same spot every day. A new addition to the bird life down there as I would have noticed him before with his striking red markings and being more the size of a goose than a duck. So I put this pic on my azahar Instagram asking if anyone knew what kind of duck this was and turns out (thanks Andalucía Bird Society!) that it’s a Muscovy. It’s not native to Spain and the ABS told me it was either an escape from a domestic collection or part of a now feral population.

I’ve actually spotted two of these magnificent beasts on my walks, one by the Triana bridge and this one further along the canal. They seem to have staked out their own territories. But I feel a bit sad for them if they are hoping for a female muscovy to come along. At least the one by the bridge has a nice grassy bank and big shady trees. This guy just sits out on this stony bank all day. As there are two (maybe more?) I suppose they were released here rather than escaped.