{"id":1270,"date":"2013-12-02T12:03:12","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T17:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sicloot.com\/blog\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2014-04-07T01:22:30","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T05:22:30","slug":"in-search-of-a-mandarin-duck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sicloot.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/in-search-of-a-mandarin-duck\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search of a Mandarin Duck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Late Saturday afternoon, we walked around Leverett Pond in Boston’s Olmsted Park, in search of a mandarin duck. I had heard this duck was on the loose from The Rambling Brambling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mallards abounded in the area; we saw 140 of them. Three male ring-necked ducks swam past us in a line.<\/p>\n

\"Ring-necked
Ring-necked duck<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n<\/p>\n

We met a group of three birders, who had seen wood ducks but not the mandarin. They claimed to have seen a pair of mandarins earlier that week. We met more birders, none of whom had managed a sighting.<\/p>\n

We then spotted some wood ducks next to an island closer to the Brookline bank but on the side of the island facing the Boston side.<\/p>\n

\"Group
Group of ducks next to an island on Leverett Pond<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was our first time seeing wood ducks, gorgeously painted creatures.<\/p>\n

\"Wood
Male wood ducks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We knew the mandarin was hanging out with these ducks. Nearby, a birder had a scope pointed at the flock. Yes, he said, the mandarin is here. He let us use his scope to find it.<\/p>\n

\"Mandarin
Mandarin duck with wood ducks and mallards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mandarin duck has feathers more brightly-colored than a wood duck, more like a parrot than a duck. The photos didn’t turn out so well in the day’s fading light, but the bird stunned on the scope.<\/p>\n

\"Mandarin
Mandarin duck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mandarins are closely related to wood ducks and this bird has become one with the wood duck flock. We saw him chasing a female wood duck. Contrary to the report of the birding group, we did not see a second mandarin.<\/p>\n

\"Mandarin
Mandarin duck chasing a female wood duck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one yet knows where this bird came from. Native to east Asia, there are breeding populations in Europe and California (see OC Birder Girl<\/a> for a report in Orange County and how to distinguish mandarin ducks from wood ducks). Maybe he will succesfully court a wood duck and we can report hybrids in the spring.<\/p>\n

\"A
A mandarin among wood ducks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Complete e-bird checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other blog reports on this duck:<\/p>\n