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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

{Muscovy Duck in Miami, Florida}

Already in a previous post on October 24, I did mention about our recent vacation to Florida. We always book at the +Hyatt Place Orlando/ Universal, and at the Hyatt House in Miami which is like a complete home away from home. My 4 hour drive from Hyatt Place in Orlando, the one where they had drained the pool for the 2 days we were there, to the Hyatt House in Miami was not a pleasant one. I hit a severe tropical storm and it was very exhausting to stay on the Turnpike with such heavy rain... Arriving with a headache, I opted for a walk around our hotel. Look what we encountered...
This very heavy and strange looking water fowl... A Muscovy Duck as it turned out!
They are from South America, you can find more about them via link below post.
The Hyatt House Miami Airport is at the Blue Lagoon, a kind of lake that extends from behind the hotel.
Here Pieter is at the parking lot and behind him is a kind of canal that ends into the Blue Lagoon...
This is me sitting on the guard rail behind the hotel, overlooking the canal.
I was so exhausted from driving through this tropical rain.
A walk and fresh air, after the rain had stopped, did me some good!
This Muscovy duck was standing there and staring at me... guess it was begging.
They are huge!
Have you ever seen this type of duck with a head full of red warts?

Related links:
{Do YOU Like HIGH HEELED Platform Shoes?} | previous post by me about our Florida vacation where the pool was drained at the Hyatt Place...
Muscovy Duck | More information about this black and heavy duck from South America

45 comments:

  1. we used to have a small flock of them here. most we bought - one was a wild hybrid mallard/muscovy cross. sadly, when we rescued the dogs, thelma and louise, they managed to drive them off / destroy them.

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    1. Dearest Theresa,
      What a sad story in a way. Those Muscovy seem to interbreed with the Mallard ducks and too bad that your small flock vanished because of Thelma and Louise... Too bad that such rescued dogs initially don't understand the 'rules' of the house. It breaks your heart to see this happen and what can we do?
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  2. Next time I go to Miami I will certainly go there to see these adorable warted ducks! We used to have a men made lake by our condo where they had gorgeous guise and ducks and my Little Victoria used to love to go and feed them. Now they dried the pretty lake as it's a wonderful hotel just under us!
    Thank you as always dear Mariette for visiting me, I love it when you do! I just added my Mil's fabulous récipe for Hot Ecuadorian Chocolate, as it is the best in the world, I also added a Little about it too, I guess it's so natural to me I don't even remember until Alejandro told me to write a Little about it. Have a wonderful week ahead my friend.
    FABBY

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    1. Dearest Fabby,
      Funny those South American warted ducks; they are the duck giants, that's for sure! My friend Natacha also lives at a man made lake, it's right behind her house and she feeds all sorts of ducks. I have to check with her about these Muscovy ducks next time I visit her. Too bad that little Victoria no longer can feed them... that is so special for children!
      Loved your Ecuadorian Chocolate, except for the egg yolks... but I would use Egg Beaters instead. Oh, if people would love to try; here is the link: http://fabbysliving.blogspot.com/2013/11/fabby-fall-dinner-and-hot-chocolate.html
      Hugs to you,
      Mariette

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  3. Dearest Mariette,
    I never have ssen such ducks where I live.... really strange looking ;O)
    Happy new week to you,
    Love and hnugs
    Claudia

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    1. Dearest Claudia,
      They are huge and at first I had to take a second look, even with my headache I figured out this was not just any ordinary duck... But he/she seemed friendly and had a look at both of us!
      We both love it when we discover new animals or plants on our travels and vacations, that's interesting and one always learns.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  4. Don't you have Muscovy ducks where you live. We have them in Australia and they are very common.
    hugs

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    1. Dearest Kay,
      No, we don't have them in our area, we saw them in South Florida first time. They originated from South America.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  5. That's a very interesting duck, haven't seen anything like it.
    Hope you'll have a great week ahead. Monday morning is always hard to get started.
    Hugs,
    Eva

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    1. Dearest Eva,
      We hadn't either.
      The week at least started off very sunny so it looks promising.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  6. Nee deze heb ik nog nooit gezien hoor!
    Lekker even op vakantie, alleen die storm
    was niet leuk, jammer! Nog veel plezier als
    jullie er nog zijn!
    Lieve groet,
    Nicole

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    1. Beste Nicole,
      Nee hoor, dit was in september en die week was snel voorbij; regen en al.
      Liefs,
      Mariette

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  7. Liebe Mariette,

    immer wieder wunderschön.

    Alles Liebe
    Elisabeth

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    1. Liebe Elisabeth,
      Ja, diese dicke Entensorte war etwas besonderes.
      Lieber Gruss,
      Mariette

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  8. Dat is wel een heel komische eend, wat een vreemd kopje heeft hij met al die "versieringen" erop. Hij kwam naar je toe om bewonderd te worden denk ik :)
    Marianne

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    1. Beste Marianne,
      Voor ons was het ook inderdaad een hele ervaring om zó'n eend van dichtbij te zien! Maar die woont daar lekker rustig aan het kanaal en volgens de info, slapen ze in boomholtes. Ik denk dat ie kwam schooien want van de parkeerplaats zal het personeel ook wel soms iets voeren.
      Liefs,
      Mariette

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  9. Hello Mariette, What a treat it is to discover interesting new wildlife. In Taiwan I sometimes see new plants or animals, but it can be difficult to identify them.
    --Jim

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    1. Dearest Jim,
      Living in another continent it can be rather difficult to identify new species of plants or animals that we have not been familiar with. But it remains interesting and makes for colorful photographs!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  10. Belas fotografias...Espectacular....
    Cumprimentos

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    1. Dearest Fernando,
      Photos in rainy weather are not the best due to the high humidity in the air. But nevertheless, quite interesting to capture.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  11. What a funny looking bird, dearest Mariette!
    I don't think that I've ever seen this kind of duck...
    Warm hugs from foggy Austria,
    Traude
    ✿ܓܓ✿ܓ✿ܓ✿ܓܓ✿ܓ✿ܓ

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    1. Dearest Traude,
      For us too this was a first encounter! Ah, foggy weather is so typical for the autumn. We have a very sunny day here, bright blue sky.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  12. He is a proud bird, isn't he . I haven't seen one before . Thanks for sharing dear Mariette .

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    1. Dearest Pallavi,
      This was our first view of this huge duck.
      Always interesting to discover new species.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  13. un grande abbraccio e buona settimana Lory

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    1. Cara Lory,
      Grazie ed è meglio salvare questo enorme anatra e non mangiarlo... Godetevi anche la vostra settimana!
      Abbraccio grande,
      Mariette

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  14. I've never heard of Muscovy duck and I think it's my first time to see it. Looks kind of like turkey to me :-)
    Long time ago, when I was driving from South Florida going north, I was hit by heavy rain. And it was night...so I could see almost nothing! It was hard. So I can understand how tired you got by driving in the tropical storm!

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    1. Dearest Tamago,
      This huge duck sure looked turkey size to us! It has been our very first encounter as well.
      Oh, when the wiper shields have to work full speed, it is no fun staying on the road as you cannot see anything. But that is life; looking tired just for a moment is nothing. After a good meal and a good night sleep you feel fit again!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  15. Dear Mariette,
    what a strange bird!!!I see it for fisrt time this Muscovy duck!
    And i love ducks!!!In Porto Rafti a port near ny area there are many kind of ducks!!
    Thank you for sharing!!!Have a wonderful week!!!Hugs!!
    Dimi...

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    1. Dearest Dimi,
      Yeah, felt like having to share this rare species with my readers as it sure did intrigue us.
      Ducks in the water are always a joy to watch and for little children feeding them is so special.
      Happy new November week to you.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  16. Cara Mariette, sempre in viaggio...così ci puoi mostrare le tue bellissime fotografie!
    A proposito, il servizio del post precedente è davvero preziosissimo!

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    1. Cara Annette,
      Grazie per le tue complimenti per quanto riguarda l'argento con cristallo di zucchero semolato. Non viaggiamo come facevamo prima. Questa breve vacanza letteralmente è caduto in acqua... Tuttavia, abbiamo cercato di fare ancora qualcosa di positivo di essa.
      Baci,
      Mariette

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  17. Dearest Mariette,
    You are so much exhausted with long time tropical rain after you meet Muscovy duck will looking for you huge also your with Pieter in the Blue Lagoon. It was good time is not waiting for a baby?
    Hugs and love to you.
    Michiko

    I sort about good thing was not waiting for a babys?
    Have a

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    1. Dearest Michiko,
      But being exhausted from such a difficult 4-hour drive through heavy tropical storm with rain is not a lasting thing. After a good meal, a good night sleep I was feeling fit and happy again!
      We only got to see this one, huge adult and no baby ducklings. They for sure would have looked cute!
      Hugs and love to you,
      Mariette

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  18. Liebe Mariette,
    eine solche -ente war mir bislang nicht bekannt.
    Es ist aber ein wunderschöner Vogel.
    Man sieht dir deine Erschöpfung an. Hoffentlich
    konntest du später entspannen und dich wieder
    erholen.
    Liebe Grüße schickt dir
    Irmi

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    1. Liebe Irmi,
      Diese Ente war auch neu für uns! Oh, die Erschöpfung dauerte nur kurz. Gott sei Dank waren die Kopfschmerzen nach diesen Spaziergang schon weg und nach ein gutes Essen sind wir ganz früh ins Bett gegangen. Am nächsten Tag war ich wieder munter!
      Lieber Gruss,
      Mariette

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  19. Dear Mariette,

    The Muscovy duck is huge and you must have enjoyed getting out of the car for some fresh air.
    I remember on a family trip when I was small and we stopped to have a picnic lunch near the lake and while eating our sandwiches a nasty old duck came and took my brothers sandwich out of his hand.
    It was a nasty old duck.
    Happy week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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    1. Dearest Carolyn,
      Sure enough the fresh air after such exhausting drive through severe tropical rain was quite a relief.
      What a nasty old duck, demanding the food for HIM. Shocking for your little brother and also for you as you never ever will forget that encounter. I was somewhat afraid for getting too close to this one as we did not know if he would attack or not. But so far we had no problem.
      Enjoy your November week.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  20. What an interesting and unusual duck, dearest Mariette!
    I think I have never seen a Muscovy duck, it indeed looks huge! Thank you for introducing us to your new friend! :)
    Sending you lots of hugs!

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    1. Dearest Anna,
      Oh, we discover on our path in life many surprising new things and this certainly was one of them.
      I had to share it with my readers as it made quite an impression on both of us.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  21. Geen pretje om dan te moeten reizen Mariëtte. Wat fijn om dan wat frisse lucht op te kunnen snuiven.
    Die eendensoort wordt hier ook wel gehouden las ik al googelend, maar ik kan me niet herinneren dat ik 'm al eens gezien heb. Het zijn idd flinke eenden.
    Fijne dag, lieve groet

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    1. Beste Willy,
      Gelukkig betrof het slechts een tijdsbestek van 4 uurtjes en eenmaal aangekomen op de plaats van bestemming valt al die stress ook snel van je af. Het weer kunnen we helaas niet veranderen en er was geen andere keus dan er dóór. Is goed gegaan, na een frisse wandeling, lekkere maaltijd en vroeg in bed waren alle vermoeidheidssporen de volgende dag weg. Die eend was wel heel bijzonder ja, thuis heb ik pas op kunnen zoeken wat het eigenlijk was. Interessant en zo zie je wat er uit andere landen zo binnen kan komen en zich vermeerderen. Soms niet eens positief.
      Ook een fijne nieuwe dag en liefs,
      Mariette

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  22. No, we don't have this kind of ducks here, unless there are some at the zoo (which I have not yet visited). Very interesting indeed!! Thank you for showing it to us, dear Mariette!!
    Hugs from Athens !!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Dearest Marie-Anne,
      Oh, life is full of surprises and we never know what we will be introduced to next. This was interesting and I had to do my research about it for finding out.
      Hugs back to Athens,
      Mariette

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  23. Hi Mariette,

    That is one wild looking duck. We used to have pet ducks. Ours were all white.

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Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...