A Sunday With The Mandarin Duck

March 10th, 2024--Colorful Colors At Hangzhou Botanical Garden & Gushan Park

On a typical weekend, I decided to visit Hangzhou Botanical Park in search of woodpeckers.

I woke up at 5 AM to ensure that I would arrive at the park by 8 AM.

As I walked from the metro station to the park, the warm morning sunshine filtered through the tall trees. The air was filled with a symphony of birdsong: from the beautiful melodies of Blackbirds to the quick hooting sounds of Crested Mynas, and the rapid but loud chirping of Light-Vented Bulbuls. The lush tree coverage in this urban area left me in awe. I knew that an extraordinary journey awaited me.

Upon entering the park and lifting my gaze, I was greeted by around ten Red-Billed Blue Magpies. They’re stunningly colored birds with long blue tails, red beaks, and white spots on their heads resembling snow. As they hopped from branch to branch, their long tails were held high in the air. It was then that I realized just how remarkably long their tails were—twice as long as their bodies! Despite its elegant appearance, the Magpie's calls were surprisingly low-pitched compared to its striking looks.

Red-billed Blue-Magpie

Venturing deeper into the garden and woods, I heard songs and calls from many other smaller birds besides Light-Vented Bulbuls. After recording these sounds for further analysis later on, I identified them as Black Bulbuls and Chestnut Bulbuls. The song of Light-Vented Bulbul is clear and melodious with a distinct pattern consisting of four notes. In contrast, the song of the Black Bulbul is much lower-pitched than that of the Light-Vented Bulbul. Furthermore, the Black Bulbul’s song is quicker in pace like a low-pitched “zzz” sound. The pitch of the Chestnut Bulbul’s song falls between those of the Light-Vented Bulbul and the Black Bulbul. Its song pattern consists of four notes, with the first note being very loud and the last note being very soft.

Mallard (Male)

I discovered that it was quite challenging to spot birds within the densely packed trees, so I shifted my focus from visually searching for birds to listening to their unique songs.

Standing in the forest, I played recordings on my phone. After a period of waiting, I heard a series of short "kik" sounds. Using a bird net, I identified this tune as the call of the Great Spotted Woodpecker. Although I had also hoped to hear the rapid drumming of woodpecker activity, I, unfortunately, did not come across any woodpeckers after an hour of waiting.

Subsequently, I proceeded to Gushan Park in search of the Mandarin Duck.

As depicted in the image below, the Mandarin Duck is a small exotic-looking creature typically found in pairs. The appearance of male and female ducks differs significantly, as with all duck species. Generally speaking, males are more colorful than females; they have two large orange fins on their back, along with a short greenish tail and longer black tail feathers. Their bodies are adorned with various colors such as blue, red, orange, green, and yellow. In contrast, the body of female ducks is entirely plain brownish-grey.

The Mandarin Duck is classified as a second-class protected animal by the nation and signs around West Lake (where they reside) warn tourists against feeding these creatures. Despite this warning, a significant number of tourists continue to feed them bread and biscuits, which deviates from their natural diet. Sadly, the Mandarin Ducks consume this "junk food." Witnessing this behavior prompted me to advise other tourists against feeding them and to inform them about the potential consequences. In addition, I would like to emphasize here that we should refrain from feeding wild animals.

Mandarin Duck (Female in the back and Male in the front)