Return of the mandarin ducks

Strathnairn, Highlands I counted 18 of them coming in to feed on the mixed grain we spread out on two ground-level bird tables below the apple treesI was up at first light the other day, listening for the ritual morning call of birds flying low across the field from the river Nairn. Their croaking sounded like moorhens, but I knew that these would be the mandarin ducks coming in to feed in the garden. These are the birds that bred in this part of the strath earlier this year – only about 1