Mandarin Duck 鸳鸯

Smart

Thanks Giulio It always makes me smile when I see these

Nice.

Thanks Leep

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

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

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