Dumbarton Reporter | News | Howard's top of the bill

Wednesday, 9th July, 2008

Published: Tuesday, 20th May, 2008 10:30

Howard's top of the bill

By Martin Donegan

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Howard's the new star attraction

Pic by: Joe Mulgrew

A WISE-QUACKING wild duck is causing a flap with visitors at a community farm.

Howard the Duck is the new star attraction at Knowetop Farm after touching down over the winter and refusing to budge.

The brazen bird, who thinks he is a human, has taken no time settling in to his adopted home, leaving staff speechless as he dines in the visitors cafe and steals food from the farm’s animals.

And as word of his feather-brained antics have spread it has not taken long for the daffy drake to grab top billing.

Eleanor Mitchell, project co-ordinator at Knowetop, admits Howard — named after the title character from the 1986 movie starring Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins — is a favourite with visitors of all ages.

She said: “Everyone knows Howard. He has become a real star after arriving a few months back.

“He has well and truly adopted us and follows the staff and visitors around — and even waddles behind the tractor when it goes up the hill.

“He’s a wild mallard duck but is very tame and will eat from your hand.

“Visitors will buy bags of wheat to feed the animals and he has started pulling their trouser if they don’t give him some.

In the movie, Howard is an ordinary duck working for an advertising company on his home planet Duckworld when he is blasted to earth after an experiment goes wrong.

He lands on earth and with the help of a bumbling janitor Phil (played by Robbins) and emerges the hero.

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