There was just this one Mandarin Duck that I was able to shoot in this local pond recently. Shooting this duck is not easy as they tend to stay as far away from you as possible. A couple of years ago in another pond there were as many as a dozen Mandarin Ducks (#10) - the only time I have ever seen this many, as usually you will find just a couple of them, or none at all.
Thank you, Lil! We recently spotted one at the LA Arboretum too, but only for that one time. Been back there a few times now and I have not seen it again. Probably flew off to the next pond - water is cleaner on the other side of the fence!
Thank you, Tony! Mandarin ducks are not native to North America. They are native to North Asia - China, Japan, Korea, and eastern Russia. I’ve heard that some parks would buy a pair of these ducks for their ponds to draw more people to their parks, but I don’t know if this is true. The problem is if the food is not there they are not going to hang around in that pond for very long.
Imagemaster wrote:
Great shots of the most beautiful domestic duck.
If anyone really ones to get close to one of these ducks, you can order them online:
