This colourful and attractive duck species was introduced into private collections in the UK from China, but escapees have formed feral breeding populations mainly in southern England, although there are small populations in Scotland and Wales.
It is estimated that the Uk breeding population is 2300 pairs with a wintering population of around 7000 birds.
I am semi-retired after a career in medical sciences. I now work from home doing independent research and consultancy amongst other things. One advantage of this is that I do have time to indulge my interests including birdwatching, natural history, steam trains and history particularly ancient history.
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