Wild Things columnist Eric Brown discovers unusual ducks bred at Chislehurst Common this summer, wonders about their origin and reveals there are more around than you might think.
Chislehurst Common's ponds are a magnet for summering ducks, geese and other water birds. Joining regulars like mallard, coot, Canada and Egyptian geese this summer were a pair of wood ducks.
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The wood duck is a north American bird, also known as Carolina duck, common in half the USA and much of Canada. Those we see here have escaped from private waterfowl collections often on lakes within country mansions or large parks.
A female wood duck with her chick Image: Kevin Jennings
They were first introduced here in the 1870s at Bicton House in Devon. Inevitably some escaped and by the 1970s small populations in Surrey, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Sussex and Somerset had been established.
In a 1996 count there were estimated to have been up to 200 individuals in Kent alone. However attractive wood ducks may be, and the male in breeding plumage is a stunner, they are scoffed at by birdwatchers who refuse to include them on their annual lists of wild birds spotted because they are all descended from captive stock.
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The wood ducks commuted between Prickend Pond, Overflow Pond and Rush Pond, eventually producing three young. Maybe one day they will make it onto the official British list alongside the similarly exotic Mandarin Duck which has also visited Chislehurst's ponds. Both species can be found in some numbers in the wildfowl collection at Regent's Park.
Another rare summer visitor turned up just a few miles away near Crossness Nature Reserve, Belvedere, at the same time. For several days local birdwatchers rushed to see an American Franklin's gull which took up residence on the Thames foreshore. It was only the second one recorded in London - the first also having been seen at the same place.
Event
Saturday, September 14, 1pm to 5pm Chislehurst Creates family art and craft events at The Cockpit, Chislehurst Common. For tickets and further information, go to www.chislehurstcreates.org
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