Hi -
This morning when I scanned the ebird notable bird sightings posted by Treesa
(thank you again) the Mandarin Duck sightings caught my eye. I think we have
had sightings from multiple places in Western Oregon this fall, and that most
sightings in the past few years have been of birds that were first noticed in
the fall. This suggests to me that a feral population may be developing
somewhere in the west (NW Washington? Vancouver I.? coastal mainland BC?). Wild
Mandarins are migratory, but with relatively short migrations in Asia (maximum
25 degrees latitude, with most birds migrating more like 10-15 degrees).
I heard rumors a few years ago of possibly some feral breeding in northern
California as well.
Anyway, I am not suggesting that they should be considered established at this
point, but it might be worth thinking of them as potential future additions to
the state list, and good documentation of their future population growth (if
that happens) would be valuable.
Wayne
