Lakeland exotica

A visit to Grange-Over-Sands during our few days in the Lakes, gave us the opportunity to have a look around the town's beautiful park. The lake in the park supports a wide range of rather exotic waterfowl. Among the most numerable of these are these Wood Ducks (sometimes called Carolina Ducks - Aix sponsa).

Wood Ducks originate from North America where they live in swampy regions and nest in holes in trees near to water.
Another colourful duck found in the park are Mandarins (Aix galericulata).

Natives of Eastern Asia, their numbers in the wild have slumped in recent years - as have so many animals.
Another rarity in the park is the Hawaiian Goose or Ne-ne (Branta sandvicensis). This is the world's rarest goose thanks to hunting and introduced predators in it's native Hawaiian Islands. Thanks to the work of Sir Peter Scott in the 1950's, the species was brought back from the brink of extinction.