Mandarin Duck 鸳鸯

Smart

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PPG

Thanks Giulio It always makes me smile when I see these

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https://www.philhemsley.co.uk/

Nice.

Thanks Leep

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https://www.philhemsley.co.uk/

This is a lovely example of these exotic ducks. They seem to be becoming more established here now. We had a shock surprise to find a pair of them in our garden a few weeks ago. They were quite at home and stayed for about 20 minutes before flying off. They made use of the facilities, by drinking from a small bird bath and the female had a bath in our pond. We were sorry to see them go. I can't post any images as I didn't want go to get my camera for fear of missing them but my wife managed to get some half decent shots, through the window, with her small Canon Ixus.

I thought you might be interested in our experience, as you obviously enjoy seeing these beautiful birds.

Best wishes

Bob

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Old hand, slow fingers.

Many thanks for your kind comment Bob

Excellent to hear of the delightful encounter you both had with a pair of Mandarins enjoying your garden Great that they felt quite at home there for a while. I can understand it would be a shame to see them leave, such stunning creatures.

We had a family of Mallards and many very young ducklings stay in our garden for a few hours several years ago, however the ducklings decided to go on an exploration under our decking and had to be rescued by a local RSPB warden, who then rehoused the entire family... Our children were a bit sad that the Mallard family had to go! It seems that more and more the urban environment is being a 'new wild' for animal commuters. We have hedgehogs and slow worms frequently too

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https://www.philhemsley.co.uk/

Thanks for your reply Phil.

Our garden is alive with birds both large and small at the present. They are such a delight to us.

Best wishes

Bob

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Old hand, slow fingers.