Mandy, Feisty, the Mandarin Duck

By Linda Swanson

 

My story begins on November 17, 2014 in Golden Gate Park at the inlet curve of Stow Lake. Annually, one or two Wood Duck arrive and take residence among entwined branches at this spot. It was a pleasant surprise to see there was a female Wood Duck on that sunny morning. My thoughts were to post this sighting to the SF Birds forum. As I took confirmation iPhone photos, a walker stopped to see what I was doing. We chatted about her sister’s fondness for Wood Ducks and how nice it was to see one here in our city. I dashed home to compose my posting, reviewing my photos alongside the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, but the ID markings around the eye were not a match for Wood Duck.

I was perplexed.

I turned the pages to the exotic ducks section and was surprised to see this appeared to be a female Mandarin Duck. My ornithology instructor, Joe Morlan, taught us a critical thinking approach to IDing birds. He saved me from a hasty and incorrect report.

Here’s a mantra Joe includes beneath his public postings about birds: “It turns out we’re very good at not seeing things” – Jack Hitt

*

The Wood Ducks that populate Stow Lake each year are only there for summer months during while they molt. Then they migrate on. But this Mandarin Duck could not be a naturally occurring species as its range is scattered from Russia to Japan. (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World”).

So the question remained: how and why did this female Mandarin Duck arrive at Stow Lake?

In the days that followed, the Mandarin Duck took up residence on the opposite side of Stow Lake that provides a nice habitat for the many ducks living there. It became the highlight of my daily run to see the Mandarin (whom I named Mandy). Eventually, I discovered her missing left wing feathers. I brought up the Mandarin in my ornithology class for discussion and learned of previous occurrences of Mandarin Duck nearby, one a decade prior at the Palace of Fine Arts, and in Sonoma County in the 1980s. Where had Mandy come from? I pondered this often.

*

Mandy was not always easy to spot. She often took cover in the vegetation at the lake’s edge. She hung out on “her branch,” a low lying roosting spot just above the water. She seemed cautious about the other ducks and often did not join them. She could make herself heard, though with a loud, bark call! She appeared to scold other ducks swimming nearby. Video and audio of Mandy is here. (April 5, 2016) Note also her long right wing, but missing this extension on the left side.

It seemed that Mandy was recognizing me from my frequent stops and would swim over. I tried to keep distance though, and began to reduce my sightings. Sometimes, when no one was nearby to see me talking to a duck, I would admonish her, “Be careful!”

Mandy also helped me make new friends. I began chatting with a couple that had also spotted her and dubbed her “Feisty” because of her fiery reputation among the other ducks. They fed and watched out for her every day. The couple, P & H, were looking out for her best interests, providing appropriate food, and protecting and encouraging her to hide in the surrounding foliage. I began running into P & H regularly. As the years passed, our acquaintance deepened into friendship. When P & H were away, they had other “regulars” at Stow Lake look after and feed Mandy.

Before I’d go out of town, I’d make a special stop to see Mandy and tell her to be good and that I’d see her upon my return. It was always a happy reunion to see her once again. There were life events over the years, the good, the bad, and the ugly, that I’d reflect upon in Mandy’s presence. She gave me solace and joy.

There were others in Mandy’s life too, including a male Hooded Merganser. They quickly formed a pair bond. However, Hoodie (the male) never left the lake, and remains to this day, despite his ability to fly and migrate. A series of photos I took on May 16, 2017 shows the pair on the far shore, also known as Strawberry Hill. You can see the photos here.

In February 2019, I traveled to Japan on a birding trip. My number one target species was (no surprise) the Mandarin Duck. I was hopeful to see this species in its naturally occurring range. Our first day birding in Japan was cold. We met the other birders behind the Narita View Hotel with our guide, Alvaro Jaramillo. He scoped a nearby lake and spotted a Mandarin Duck. I was breathless to have a view through the scope. We joked that I could go home now.

In early 2019, I relocated for a short time and did not see Mandy as regularly. In late summer, I couldn’t find her at all. My last sighting and photo of her was on July 10th. I visited Stow Lake searching for P & H. Surely, they’d know what could have happened. Perhaps they would have taken her to animal rescue if she were injured. But try as I might, I didn’t run into P & H. I called all the animal care and rescue facilities in the Bay Area inquiring about a Mandarin Duck but none had been brought in. I asked the Stow Lake gardener and other birders what they had heard, but I did not get any news.

Eventually, a good birding friend of mine uncovered that Mandy had “looked pretty scruffy and had a limp” the last time she was seen. He added that J, an elderly gentleman who was a long-time duck feeder at Stow, had also called her Mandy after learning her species name. That J had been outlived by Mandy by a year and a half.

Now, I’ve moved closer to Stow Lake. I have yet to run into P & H again. I think of them fondly, and I’m always happy when I see Hoodie. After I had moved, I was presented with a housewarming gift of a framed photo of Mandy from a dear friend who shared the same fondness for our duck.

I hung the picture where I see it many times a day.

My friend expressed this sentiment about Mandy: “I know we will always miss her while walking by… I’d like to think of her passing on peacefully and wherever she is now, she can fly.”

 

Linda Swanson is a San Francisco birder and enjoys adding new species to her City & County list, encouraging others in birding, and meeting birding friends in the field. She credits her ornithology professor, Joe Morlan, for her birding education from 2003 to present. She leads “Team Ten” for the annual SF Christmas Bird Count and is a longtime GGBA member. Linda enjoys birding tours and travels, learning about new places and cultures, and experiencing new bird species. All photos in this post were taken by Linda.

 

Have a birding essay you’d like to share with us? Please email your 800-1200 word posts to Melissa at mramos@goldengatebirdalliance.org. Wishing you joy and peace through birding.