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?
More Ducks
One person’s White Ibis is another person’s Bin Chicken Even if it's a common species it's well worth appreciating. I remember going to Australia (I had half a day's… read more
Wigeon I love how beautiful Wigeon are close-up. Their patterns and colours are a delight. Many come to the UK from… read more
Fighting Drakes There's an awful lot of behaviour going on with ducks. There's a social order and dominance hierarchy and sexual violence… read more
Floating Eider I've been enjoying floats of Eider Ducks all around Westray this summer. Occasionally I'll see a group of males hassling… read more
Three Shovels I was attempting to get my ducks in a row at RSPB Ham Wall as these Northern Shovelers had an… read more
Quackers I spot a group of Mallard Ducks taking off from the water at RSPB Radipole. They're a hundred metres away,… read more
I’m just dabbling There's a Eurasian Teal plodding its way through the mud towards me at RSPB Lodmoor in Weymouth. I love how… read more
