Mandarin Ducks
Went down to Sherbrook Woods on my patch this morning in the hope of seeing/photographing Mandarin Ducks or Dippers. At the far end of the wood I was pleased to find 16 stunning Mandarins, the first here this winter. The males are amazingly colourful birds and always nice to see! They aren’t native to the UK but to South-East Asia and China and were brought to this country in the 18th Century, and escaped from wildfowl collections in the 1930s. Managed to get a few photos but quite difficult with branches in the way and they were quite skittish.
Other birds we have had in Sherbrooke in pervious winters include Grey Wagtails, Dippers (none last year) and last winter was great for Brambling so hopefully again this year!
