Mandarin Duck Spotted In Hafnarfjörður

A mandarin duck was spotted at the Hamarkotslækur pond in Hafnarfjörður yesterday, according to Vísir.

“This is such a beautiful bird that it’s always a pleasure to see it again and again,” birdwatcher Sveinn Jónsson, who photographed the duck, told Vísir. “I heard about it in the morning. I stopped for about 20 minutes and that was enough. There weren’t many people there at first, but the crowd kept growing,” he added.

The bird’s colourful plumage certainly draws attention. “It’s always fun to see it again and again. It’s just so beautiful,” says Sveinn. “Absolutely incredible — pure artwork of nature.”

Sveinn first heard about the duck through the Flækingavaktin app, where birdwatchers share sightings of interesting birds. “I just rushed over to take a look and was lucky enough to get reasonably close to it,” he says, having managed to capture the bird’s beauty on camera.

Mandarin ducks occasionally pop up around Iceland, but they aren’t common visitors, as they don’t breed here. A few years ago, when we interviewed birdwatcher and bird photographer Sigurjón Einarsson, he told us there were only two males in Vík at the time.

“They probably come along with ducks that winter in Europe. Icelandic birds like swans and geese often spend the winter in the British Isles, and when they head back to Iceland, a few mandarin ducks may have been tagging along and just come with them. That’s the most likely explanation,” says Sveinn. “These are very common birds in Europe — you often see them on ponds there. But as you may know, they’re not originally European. They’re from China or East Asia and were brought to Europe long ago as ornamental birds in gardens.”

It’s currently unclear whether the duck is still in Hafnarfjörður. See the photo Sveinn took here.