Just kidding, I'm not his duck. Seriously though, "I listen to face melting rock, my best friend is a tattoo artist, I use styling products in my mohawk, wear eyeliner, ride a Harley, and don't go home 'til 5:00 AM, if I go home at all."
If this duck could talk, that's what I imagined he'd say when I saw him at the Emma Prusch Farm just southeast of downtown San Jose on King Road and HWY 280.
This duck looks like he could definitely take the Aflac duck to the dark side. He's like the Aflac duck's alter ego.
I mean just look at him! This is seriously one badass duck. Can I say ass? I think I can. . . No one is stopping me.
I suspect my friend Holly is going to think this is the coolest duck ever.
I came home and Googled "red headed duck" and found a picture of one of his brethren. Turns out he's a Muscovy Duck and the red bubbled, warty skin is called caruncling. They're a large breed duck with wild females weighing up to 7 lbs and males weighing up to 15 lbs. Domesticated varieties can weigh from 4-11 lbs for females and 7-18 lbs for males.
They are hunted as well as raised in captivity for meat and egg production.
The patterning on Muscovy ducks varies widely. Some barely have any caruncling, while others have so much it can obscure their vision or interfere with their breathing. Some have brownish to black feathers with a green or purple iridescence that are mixed in with patches of snowy white feathers.
Others are pure white with the red caruncled skin on their faces, heads and sometimes on their necks.
As I was watching a different Muscovy decided it was time to take a bath.
He put on quite a show splashing in the water.
A head-on view.
You can see the base of the fountain that seemed to be the trigger for the outrageous display of thrashing we were treated to.
Love this shot!
It was a veritable cacophony of droplets and flailing feathers.
As he wound down he headed back to the shore.
He emerged drenched with water, feathers haphazardly askew.
But a quick shake and every feather fell back into place. It was quite a show.
If you've never been to the Emma Prusch Farm before it's definitely worth a visit. It's the only park I know of where chicken hens, roosters, and ducks run and waddle about the playground and picnic areas. They also have turkey, geese, Guinea fowl, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, and rabbits all just moments from downtown.
From their website:
"The Emma Prusch Farm Park Foundation supports Emma Prusch Farm Park in East Side San Jose. Our mission:
The Prusch Farm Park Foundation mission is to maintain a rural, country atmosphere at the Park as directed in the gift deed trust; to act as liaison between the City staff ad park users, in accordance with the 1979 Master Plan; to solicit and receive gifts, grants and donation of funds and properties for the support of Emma Prusch Memorial Park and to promote and demonstrate historic, contemporary and culturally relevant agricultural practices."
Emma Prusch Farm Park - website
647 S King Rd
San Jose, CA 95116
Foundation Phone
408-264-9654
Park Office Phone
408-794-6262
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