Spotted in Poole: one of Britain’s most beautiful birds

Music from Dee Yan-Key (Free Music Archive) Link to license:

One of Britain’s most colourful and exotic birds has been spotted in Poole.

The Mandarin duck, a type of duck typically spotted in the Far East, can be found on park lakes and other wetlands with overhanging trees, mainly in South East England.

This little waterbird has recently been spotted locally by photographers in Poole Park, Hatch Pond, Upton Country Park and Lytchett Bay. Mandarins breed in Merley.

If you have an interest in wildlife, or simply want to see this beautiful bird, here are ways to know what you are looking for:

1. Mandarin ducks are known for being one of the most colourful birds.
2. Unmistakable, male Mandarins have orange plumes on their cheeks, orange sails on their back, and pale orange sides.
3. Female Mandarins have grey heads, brown backs and white eyestripes.
4. Mandarins are shy and favour small wooded ponds, avoiding lakes or large bodies of open water.
5. They can often be seen hiding beneath overhanging trees.
6. When ducklings hatch, females fly down and try to get the young to jump from the nest.
7. They are manoeuvrable fliers, and can fly through trees with great agility.

Music from Dee Yan-Key (Free Music Archive) Link to license

Photos from Mark Harkin and Marco Verch (both on Flickr) Link to license