As I had a walk around a local country park, I spotted a male Mandarin duck. I very rarely see Mandarin ducks on this lake. They originally come from East Asia, mainly China and Japan, but some have settled here in the wild. They've often escaped from private collections. This one seemed to be on its own. I couldn’t see any females nearby. I’m wondering if it may have flown from a neighbouring lake where there is a group of them.
This is my entry to the Feathered Friends - Show Me A Photo Contest Round 269.
The males in particular are such beautiful birds. They remind me of a patchword quilt with the many different colours. The females are quite bland in comparison, being a mostly brown to grey/brown colour with some light mottling. I still can't get over how something so exotic looking, could be in the UK.
It stood quite still, so I managed to get a few photos before it walked off into the nearby lake.
Thank you to 
