DUCKS
PART 1
“If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds
like a duck...” It is an old saying from my days at Oxford
University when I was studying architecture - of all things
But is this saying scientifically true? Even as a
Fellow of the Linnean Society where taxonomy is
strong, I can usually agree with this description,
but what about other people? a good tick on any ‘twitchers’ list. I went to where
he said the pochard was – and I had no difficulty in
seeing and identifying the bird. If only all my other
wildlife watching was just as easy!
Sometimes I think about this saying when I see
mallards roaming in the wildlife garden and diving
in the pond at Millstream Fork. Whilst mallards
and other dabbling birds have the correct generic
name of ducks, all other waterfowl are included in
different families, such as geese or swans. A few weeks later my friend sent me another
message about goosanders appearing on the local
waterways. These birds are not as rare as the red
crested pochard, although they are beautiful, and
still a delight to see. But despite their name, they are
ducks, not geese.
Recently there have been some excellent
sightings of dabbling ducks near Millstream Fork.
For example, a local friend of mine told me about
a rare visitor, the red crested pochard, which is Goosanders have never been seen inside the
Millstream Fork wildlife garden, although I have
seen them swimming nearby. Perhaps one reason
for this is that goosanders are only winter visitors
Contact Andy on 01895 520184 | email [email protected] | www.ffes.org.uk
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