The wild fauna and flora of the UK is constantly changing, and new species are arriving all the time, sometimes enriching our natural scene and sometimes endangering it in some way or other. Some species arrive by their own efforts, for example in recent years the Collared Dove, the Little Egret and Cetti’s Warbler; some are deliberately introduced, or perhaps reintroduced after becoming extinct: examples might be games birds like the Pheasant and the Red-Legged Partridge, or raptors like the Red Kite (in England and Scotland) and the White-Tailed Eagle. Yet others have either been deliberately released or are accidental escapees from collections, most notably perhaps the Canada Goose and, common now in London and other parts of South-east England, the Ring-Necked Parakeet.
Quite a few water birds have joined our fauna as escapes from collections, and for the most part they cause little concern. Canada Geese have become something of a scourge mainly because they are present in such large numbers, and can cause damage to water-edge habitats, while the Ruddy Duck, an American “stifftail” duck, has been culled because of the risk of interbreeding with the only European stifftail, the White-Headed Duck, a rare resident of Spanish wetlands.
But the bird I was delighted to see not long ago on the River Sow at Stafford is not only a reasonably problem-free addition to our bird fauna, but in fact is present in such numbers as to be internationally important - the Mandarin Duck. Mandarin males are among the most amazingly plumaged birds you are likely to see in the UK, and can be found on lakes and slow-moving waters, mostly to the south and east of the English midlands but in a number of places in Wales too. There are perhaps 7000 birds in the UK, a significant number given that probably less than 1000 pairs remain in its homeland of China, and the population there is declining. It is an Asian species, found also in Korea and in parts of Russia, and in Japan which holds perhaps half the world population. Mandarins have found a home in other parts of western Europe, and there are some in the USA, but the British population is potentially important.
The exotic plumage of the male is beyond my capacity to describe in just a few words. Suffice to say it includes a white head with red bill, dark russet cap and yellow cheeks, remarkable long orange feathers hanging down from the cheeks each side, orange ‘sails’ standing erect on each side, a purple chest and chestnut sides. The female, by contrast, is a plain brown-grey bird with a white eye stripe. The diet is mostly plants and seeds, but Mandarins will also take insects, small fish, snails and so forth. Like Mallards, they feed by dabbling, and will also graze. I have heard they have a fondness for acorns in season. The preferred habitat is a wooded area around a lake or pond, and they make their nest in a hole in a tree, where a single clutch of as many as twelve eggs is incubated by the female. The ducklings have to drop to the ground to leave the nest, after which they will follow the female to water. Grass Snakes, Otters and Mink are significant predators.
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