Juvenile Mandarin

 

This photo is of what I believe to be a juvenile mandarin duck. The male has the striking clown-like colouring, which stands out among other duck types.  The female has muted colouring and is more difficult to identify among female mallards.  This duck appears to be a juvenile male because although it has some of the male’s bright colouring, the vivid head feathers are as yet unformed, with only wispy, mostly white feathers on show.  

Mature Male Mandarin Duck (Bushy Park, January '19)

Terenure College is a fee-paying secondary school for boys located in Dublin 6.  The college is set in beautiful grounds which residents from the area often visit for a short evening stroll.  The grounds have a wide variety of trees, as each year the graduating class present their own unique tree to the school, and it is lovely to see them lining the pathway beside the lake.  The lake itself has a range of water-fowl including mallards, coots, moorhens, little grebes, tufted ducks, swans and the occasional mandarin duck.


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