Duck for Christmas?

[journeyman]

Can anyone tell me what this is? I can't seem to find it in any of my cookbooks.

[heybaz]

Definitely not a turkey....

[journeyman]

Any advances on a "white faced whistling duck" - no I'd never heard of one either but it looks similar.
Can anybody confirm this?

[GrumpyPumpy]

Any advances on a "white faced whistling duck" - no I'd never heard of one either but it looks similar.
Can anybody confirm this?

I don't think it's a White Faced Tree Duck the white is distributed incorrectly.

What size was it compared to say a Mallard and what environment, did you see it feeding was it dabbling or diving?

My best guess is a Mandarin Drake entering Eclipse the white looks like the eye stripe on this and if you lose the highly coloured feathers and the head plume. In full Eclipse they are a dull grey but this one could be part way there.

I checked my Peter Scott Duck and Goose cook book and there is nothing which quite resembles your duck, so it's either in Eclipse or a Hybrid of some sort I guess.

[journeyman]

Grumpy
Was probably slightly bigger than a mallard. It wasn't feeding, just floating with no other companions, acting a bit "I don't really want to move". Was about 50m from shore of a sandy beach on the South Wales side of Bristol Channel in an area that I've never seen these type of feeders. I didn't want to get any closer in case I spooked it.

Not sure if this picture is any more help

[maryinoxford]

Can't help you with this one. But I once saw a "mystery duck" on the Thames, which I eventually identified as Ringed Teal, a South American native, often kept domestically as it's pretty. Mine must have been an escapee. Just a warning that you may need to look further than UK bird lists.

Mary

[GrumpyPumpy]

OK it's a sea duck and slightly bigger than a Mallard definitely not a Mandarin then, I'll take another look through Peter Scotts Duck and Goose Recipe book tomorrow.

GP

[Heather Rainsley]

Cape Shelduck?

[journeyman]

Thanks Heather, it certainly looks as if it could be the adult female Cape Shelduck.
Long way from home or more likely a pet on an outing.

[GrumpyPumpy]

Thanks Heather, it certainly looks as if it could be the adult female Cape Shelduck.
Long way from home or more likely a pet on an outing.

After searching through my Coloured Key to Wildfowl of the World by Peter Scott just now my first choice was the Cape or South African Shelduck, well done Heather beat me to it.

Normally found in Cape Province, Orange Free State and Transvaal so she is a long way from home, most likely an escapee from a collection.

The plate in my book shows a longer white eye flash than the one in the Wiki link exactly like your photograph which confirms it for me.

[Nick P]

Dunno what it is, but ducks are notoriously promiscuous for birds. In addition, there are many and varied ornamental ducks out there so that almost any combination is possible.
We had a particularly vocal bast**rd on the Looe estuary last winter. No one could say what it was but could the bu99er quack?!!

Nick

[Owen]

What did it taste like?

[CaptainSensible]

I posted this picture (and the location) on another forum I frequent (with several birdwatchers on it), and they think Heather and GrumpyPumpy are right too.

They've got them in Slimbridge, which is just over the channel and where Ruddy Ducks came from in the first place.

Kill it and eat it before it single-handedly makes the Common Shelduck extinct

[GrumpyPumpy]

Dunno what it is, but ducks are notoriously promiscuous for birds. In addition, there are many and varied ornamental ducks out there so that almost any combination is possible.
We had a particularly vocal bast**rd on the Looe estuary last winter. No one could say what it was but could the bu99er quack?!!

Nick

Common Shelduck is listed as "Laughing" rather than Quacking I think that's what you might have heard imagine Donald Duck laughing, I hear this sometimes at night as I live opposite Radipole Lake, a really loud Donald Duck falling about laughing I reckon that's what yours was too.

Not a lot of ducks actually Quack, in my book it lists Honking (Geese of course and Shelducks again), Whistling (Widgeon, Pintail some Teal), Barking (Gooseander), Clucking (Shovelers), Rattling or Nattering (Garganey), Grunting (Gadwall and GrumpyPumpy) and Hissing (Muscovey, Geese and Swans)

Obviously loads of different ducks and geese make the above noises but I just put the native ones we're likely to see here.

[maryinoxford]

Someone on this forum once posted a link to the RSPB Eider Duck page with a recording of the call. I bookmarked it, and have a listen whenever I need a laugh...
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... index.aspx

Mary

[GrumpyPumpy]

Someone on this forum once posted a link to the RSPB Eider Duck page with a recording of the call. I bookmarked it, and have a listen whenever I need a laugh...
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... index.aspx

Mary

Now I know where Kenneth Williams got his Ooooooooer Matron from!

[CaptainSensible]

Thanks for making me aware of that, maryinoxford.

It's made a lot of people (both online and not online) I know laugh this Christmas.

I hope to see and hear them for real one day.

I think a skein/string (flying) or bunch/raft (on the water) of Eiders should be called a Howerd.

[journeyman]

What did it taste like?

Alas, Owen, I shan't know this year.
It looked a bit knackered, and would have been a tad unsporting to have bagged her.

Thanks to all for helping.

[GrumpyPumpy]

What did it taste like?

Alas, Owen, I shan't know this year.
It looked a bit knackered, and would have been a tad unsporting to have bagged her.

Thanks to all for helping.

She's bound to be a bit knackered if she flew all the way up from the Cape of Good Hope!

[journeyman]

Normally found in Cape Province, Orange Free State and Transvaa

Then "Duck a l'orange" would surely be the most fitting way to serve her.