‘Drying off’. The colourful Male Mandarin Duck drying off on its favourite look out post. First imported to Britain from China in the mid-18th century, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that escapes from wildfowl collections started breeding here. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix. East Anglia.
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Mandarin Duck Notes:-
The male mandarin duck has the most elaborate and ornate plumage with distinctive long orange feathers on the side of the face, orange ‘sails’ on the back, and pale orange flanks. The female is dull by comparison with a grey head and white stripe behind the eye, brown back and mottled flanks.
A pretty and distinctive little waterbird, the mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East as its name suggests. Oddly for a duck, it nests in trees, sometimes high above the water.
Species information:-
Category: Waterfowl
Statistics
Length: 45cm
Wingspan: 71cm
Weight: 520-630g
Average lifespan: est. 6 years
Conservation status
Introduced, non-native species.
When to see
January to December
About
The beautiful mandarin duck was introduced from the Far East, where it can still be found in China, Japan, Korea and parts of Russia. It escaped, or was deliberately released, from captivity in the UK. Mandarin ducks are actually quite shy birds, often hiding beneath overhanging willows and usually only forming small flocks.
How to identify
A beautiful, unmistakable duck: male mandarins have elaborate plumage with orange plumes on their cheeks, orange ‘sails’ on their back, and pale orange sides; females are dull in comparison, with grey heads, brown backs and white eyestripe.
Distribution
Introduced from China and now found on park lakes and other wetlands with overhanging trees, mainly in South East England, but also in North England, Wales and Scotland.
Habitats
FreshwaterWetlandsTowns and gardens
Did you know?
The mandarin duck nests in holes in trees, sometimes high up and a long way from the water. Shortly after the ducklings hatch, the female flies down and tries to coax the young to jump from the nest. Once they have left the tree and made their way back to water, the father will return to the family and help to protect the ducklings. WT Notes
Mandarin Duck facts:-
The mandarin, widely regarded as the world’s most beautiful duck, is a native of China and Japan.
The drake mandarin’s stunning plumage has long made it an artist’s favourite, and it is widely depicted in oriental art.
The first mandarins were imported to Britain in the mid-18th century, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that escapes from wildfowl collections started breeding here.
The first birds to escape did so from Alfred Ezra’s collection at Fox warren Park, near Cobham in Surrey, and this area remains one of the strongholds of mandarins in England.
Mandarins favour small wooded ponds and avoid lakes or large bodies of open water.
They are extremely manoeuvrable fliers, able to fly through trees with remarkable agility.
They frequently perch in trees, while the female invariably chooses a hole or cavity in a tree trunk in which to lay her eggs.
Lack of natural nest sites and competition from jackdaws and squirrels limits population expansion, but they will readily adopt suitable nest boxes.
After hatching, the ducklings jump to the ground: their fluffy down and lightweight ensures that injuries are unusual.
Once the mother has gathered her brood, she leads them straight to water.
It was long believed that the British population – now close to 8,000 birds – was of international importance, but previously undiscovered populations have been discovered in China, so this duck is far more numerous than was once thought.
In their native China mandarins have long been regarded as symbols of fidelity and pairs were given to brides on their wedding day.
In fact mandarins, like most ducks, only pair for the season, and new pairs will form again in the autumn.
The drake mandarin’s display is highly ritualised, and includes raising the crest and the orange sails, and ritualised drinking and preening behind the sail.
The so-called sail is an elongated tertial feather.
In eclipse (summer) plumage the drake moults and looks almost identical to the duck, only his bright red beak indicating his sex.
China historically exported hundreds of thousands of mandarins, but the export trade was banned in 1975.
The mandarin is a member of the genus, which has only one other member, the closely related North American wood duck. Though the drakes are very different, the plumage of the females is very similar.
Despite the closeness of the relationship with the wood duck, no hybrids have ever been recorded. This is because the mandarin has a chromosome aberrance that makes it impossible for it to produce hybrids with other ducks.
The mandarin is one of the few introduced species in Britain that has not created any environmental problems, mainly because it uses a habitat not favoured by our native wildfowl.
Female mandarins don’t quack, but they do make a series of clucking calls that are invariably uttered when they see danger, such as a hunting fox. Living with Birds Notes.
Ruff Information:-
The UK hosts a small, but important, breeding population of Ruff. The Ruff is a large sandpiper that is so-called due to the large ruff of feathers around the males’ neck. This is used in a showy display to attract a mate.
Species information
Category: Wading birds
Statistics
Length: 26-32cm
Wingspan: 53cm
Weight: 110-180g
Average lifespan: 4 years
Conservation status
Classified in the UK as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
When to see: January to December
About
The Ruff is a large sandpiper; a typical wader, it feeds in shallow water around lakes and wetland areas near the coast. Just a handful of pairs breed in the UK, but some birds are present all year-round. During summer, young birds on their way to Africa from Scandinavia stopover in the UK.
How to identify
Most Ruff you will see are fairly plain-looking waders, with a longish neck and small head. Non-breeding birds are pale fawn-brown all over, with a paler belly. Breeding males, however, have a ruff of brightly coloured feathers around the neck, head tufts and a bare, orange face. Ruff have a short, slightly down-curved bill and orangey-yellow legs.
Distribution
A very rare breeding bird of wet grasslands in East Anglia. Fairly common on migration at wetlands throughout the country and around the east and south coasts.
Habitats
Grassland, Freshwater, Coastal, Wetlands
Did you know?
Female Ruff are called ‘reeves’ and are much smaller than their mates. Male Ruff use the large ruff of feathers around their necks in showy displays to attract females. Males with white ruffs are known as ‘satellites’ and are not usually dominant enough to mate with females, but will sneak couplings when they can. WT Notes.
Posted by eaglebanjo on 2022-01-13 07:14:13
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