Invading Mandarin Duck

[dankearl]

Female.
I took this in my pond in Portland Oregon this AM...
The local Audubon confirmed it.
Apparently they are drifting around the US.
She was with a Male Wood Duck, supposedly they cannot mate.
Maybe some bird person here could confirm that.
Otherwise I will look for hybrid chicks.
The Wood ducks are year round permanent residents at this pond.
Several hundred. I guess they are being invaded.

D500, 1/500, ISO450, 300MM

DSC_7259bp2.jpg

[gail bisson]

This is a very nice frame. She sure looks like a female wood duck except for the bill.
I like your low POV and the green color of the water. The circular wake look really nice and I love the water pattern in the FG.
IQ looks great.
I could see a version with more room on the RHS. It feels a bit tight there.
Another option would be a pano with the reflection of neck and head cropped out and more room front and back.
Gail

[John Mack]

Looks alot like a female wood duck. The details look very nice. Also like the low angle and the pose.

[Randy Stout]

Dan:

Years ago, at the local bird sanctuary, a Mandarin male took up residence with a mallard hen. I don't know if anything came of it, but they def. spent a lot of time together in the nest box.

I would have thought this might be a leucistic wood duck female without your description. Did you ever see the feet, to see what color they were?

Nice picture by the way, like Gail's crop ideas.

Cheers

Randy

[dankearl]

Thanks all for the comments, I will rework a could I have since this is a rarity.
It really does not look like a female wood duck if you see them side by side and I did.
The eye is really different, look at a wood duck. That is the giveaway.
It was also lighter and had more spots I thought.
She was easily spotted.

DSC_7246bp.jpg

[Geoff Newhouse]

Great shot and a rare find I'm sure.
This is definitely a Mandarin....looking at the eye is the easiest way to tell. The Madarin's eye sits above the white line and there is a defined trailing white line. The Wood duck has the eye in line with the white line and there is usually not much of a line, just a teardrop.
I've read that Mandarin can't hybridize due to an extra chromosome. Wood ducks hybridize with a bunch of other ducks. Certainly Wood ducks and Mandarin ducks have tried to make it work but the eggs will never be viable....