Questions on ducks in St James Park (London) (1 Viewer)

[abizid]

St James Park has a feral population of ducks and geese, but I was wondering if the single drake smew and goldeneye were feral or not? They seem to accept feeding readily and are much tamer than where I saw them before.

I was also wondering about the Ruddy Duck population (I saw two males and a female). I heard about the European campaign to cull these ducks and was wondering if these ducks are controlled and how?

Thanks a lot

 

[BirdBoyBen]

Sadly all these birds are captive. Many are free flying as their wings have to be clipped once or twice a year.

There is a wild female Smew with the collection birds at regents park.

Goldeneye are now incredibly rare in the inner London area, with a sighting every few years now only. There are however large collections at st. James' and Regent's park.

 

[BirdBoyBen]

Sorry, posted too soon. The Ruddy duck cull has already taken place, involving birds being shot at various location in Western Europe (inc. Staines reservoirs). There used to be thousands of birds in the UK, with twenty or so at St. james'. Now there are less then 150 individials in the UK, and generally none at the London parks where they previously bred. The cull is because of interbreeding in spain, as Ruddies are a non-native species.

 

[abizid]

actually, I was surprised to see 3 Ruddy Ducks in St James. I guess they are all feral then?