Taking an easy walk around some local reservoirs, we sometimes see Mandarin ducks on the water or perching on a branch of a tree. I still can't believe they are here in the UK. Their plumage is nothing like our native birds. The male duck is a very vibrant looking bird, with its multicoloured plumage of orange, purple, green, white stripes, with a red bill and a reddish face.
The female doesn't stand out as much with a grey head, brown back, and mottled sides with a white eye-ring and stripe. It might not be as striking and as colourful, but it's still a pretty bird.
They actually come from East Asia – China, Japan, and Eastern Russia. The Mandarin ducks were bought to the UK in the 18th century for the rich to add to their collections. Some of the birds either escaped or deliberately released, so there is now a large number in the wild.
I'm glad they are in the wild and relatively safe now.