Mandarin Duck

 We have just returned from a weekend away with friends in the New Forest. The weather was beautifully sunny, but just a little too cool and breezy to see any butterflies on the wing.

However, a Sunday morning walk into the forest provided some interesting moments.

The Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) is an introduced species from East Asia and has successfully established itself in southern England, largely as an escapee from ornamental collections. I rarely pay them much attention when I see them on village ponds but in their wild state they are a woodland duck, nesting in tree holes. With its mature trees and network of shallow, gravel-bottomed streams, the New Forest offers the Mandarin Duck plenty of ideal habitat to breed in.

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (male)

(female)

Later on my walk, I came across a Nuthatch nest hole high up on an oak trunk. I sat and watched for about 20 minutes as the occupant busily sculpted the entrance with mud to its desired specifications.

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) (at nest hole)