I took a 50 second video of it which seems to be too large to download. I have taken 4 pics from the video and I seem to be unable to download any of the pics as the system is telling me they are more than 5000 KB! Can you send me a link to enable me to download the pics or the video please. It was about the size of a pigeon but not a pigeon and looked like a cross between a duck and a pigeon. generally grey in colour but had a white streak over his eye and a black and white streak on his wing- and was entering the tree through large old holes as if he was a woodpecker before entering.
Cin J
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
Hi Caroline, I agree with both CinJ and Pete with female Mandarin duck. I live just off the Chelford to Macclesfield Road and our area has a large breeding population of Mandarin ducks locally and they do nest in tree hollows. So you can compare what you saw I will post a photo of a female Mandarin duck ............ this was taken on Alderley Park just off the Chelford/Macclesfield Road.
_____________________________________
Regards, Hazel
Hi Caroline, glad the photo matches what you saw. They were originally an introduced species from China almost a century ago (from what I understand) but are now well established, especially in our area of N.West. Some of the original ducks would have been in private collections in UK and subsquently were released or escaped and then bred in the wild. At one time they did a bird count on Alderley Park and if I remember rightly there were over 200 mandarin ducks ! So, they are not as rare as they once were and a very attractive looking duck. Seems weird for ducks to nest in trees - but they do. !! By the way, I know exactly the place you saw them, near the lay-by, as it is a ten minute walk from where I live !