ML540161511

Age and sex

Adult Male - 1

Observation details

Continuing adult male on the pond. Likely one of the last few feral birds left in Dublin (perhaps originating from the release event in 2010?). This bird has been seen at a few sites along the Tolka River in recent years (...there used to be several birds along this river but no recent reports of the additional birds - unless some remain in the less frequently visited stretches upriver?). Another male along the River Dodder was last reported in April 2022 at Bushy Park. Records from the Phoenix Park seem to have dried up also. No females seen in Dublin since February 2020 (to the best of my knowledge). Other reports of Mandarin Ducks in recent years involve singles or pairs in Wicklow, Waterford, Laois, Westmeath, Tipperary, Cork and Kerry (and no doubt elsewhere) but records are sporadic. Breeding as been noted in a few counties but again, records are sporadic and success/recruitment appears to be low. Known released birds (pinioned) were seen in Wexford during 2018. So it seems that no truly self-sustaining population is currently present in the Republic of Ireland at least. The Category C population in Northern Ireland (Down) also seems to be fizzling out (not many records in recent years). There is also the possibility that feral Category C birds could come across from the Britain however (where decent movements of BTO metal ringed birds are known, travelling as far as The Netherlands, France, Norway and Russia). UK population is estimated at 4,400 breeding pairs / 14,000 wintering birds per the BTO.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 11

Lens

iPhone 11 back dual wide camera 4.25mm f/1.8

ISO

40

Focal length

4.3 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/1.8

Shutter speed

1/122 sec

Dimensions

1850 pixels x 1361 pixels

Original file size

1.55 MB