Mandarin Blue RW3038P

A close portrait of a drake Mandarin. These non-native, colourful ducks, have become incredibly numerous here in the Peak District over the past decade or so. Nesting as they do in holes in trees, they compete with owls, kestrels and jackdaws. A pair even nest in an old ash tree behind our house, 30 feet up and over half a mile from the nearest open water.