Tales of the Heath and Pond

The story of Eric the Muscovy Duck

You may have noticed Eric since he is the only Muscovy duck on the pond - but did you know how he got there?

A few years ago, P, who often visits the pond to feed the birds, saw a van pull up along the south side of the the pond.

A man got out and threw a black bin liner into the pond; P rushed over to the van and the driver got in and drove off.

Picking up the bin liner, expecting to find a few kittens, P was amazed to find a muscovy duck - Eric!

She took him to the vets who prescribed some antibiotics and then looked after him at home for a while - giving him cold water baths to build up his strength.

When he was fully fit he was taken to the pond for short visits of a couple of hours each day and eventually and released - and has thrived there ever since!

He was seen mating with an Egyptian goose a while ago and we have seen him repeating this process recently - we are looking for an unusual gosling around the pond!