Ruddy Shelduck
Followers of this blog will know my love for ducks. As soon as I saw this gorgeous ginger specimen, I knew what it was. The curious thing, though, is how did I know it was a Ruddy Shelduck? I must have seen one as a child and identified it using one of my brother’s old bird books. Perhaps it was on a park lake? This one is equally as likely to be feral or an escapee.
I watched it fly in dramatically to a small pool in Orbetello and enjoy a little dabble while being closely followed by a male Mallard, which clearly fancied a bit of hybridisation.
Gorgeous, aren’t they?
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