These guys weren’t part of my plan for the day!
I was going to show you Baden-Baden,
but the Mandarins got in my way!
Why are Mandarin Ducks swimming wild in Germany you may well wonder?
Although Mandarin Duck populations are dwindling in their native Russia and Asia, some escapees from captivity are breeding in the wild in Germany and The UK. I happened upon these guys today on the Oos River in Baden-Baden Germany.
So, it is cheers to you, and Happy Spring, from the gorgeous German Mandarins~
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OMG -what amazing colors! They are truly designer birds and look quite alien and made up 😀 Thanks for sharing these amazing glimpses Cindy!
Designer ducks! Thank goodness they are wild and free to fly at will~
😀
I am just blown away with the colors of the little ducks! The photography is amazing! Thanks for sharing these fabulous photos – you are an incredibly talented photographer! Wow. K D
You are an incredibly kind person and I am touched and humbled by your lovely comment~
Thank you Cindy, my pleasure, your photos are wonderful and brightened my day! Karen
Your comment brightened mine~ 🦆
Ach – sind die süß!!!
Sie sind Deutsche Mandarinen-Enten und sie sind sehr süß!
Wow, I have never seen such beautiful fowl – such great shots – thanks for sharing.
Yay! Another critter Antionette likes! I am on a roll and the duckies think you have excellent taste! 🦆
The colors on these birds are incredible. I’m amazed.
I was amazed to see them, especially in Germany in the snow!!!! 🦆
That is one seriously beautiful duck!!!! People don’t eat them, do they? They look like show ducks!
I am VERY happy to report the answer is no! Their meat does not taste good. Lucky duckies! 🦆
YAY!!!!!!!
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I was so impressed with them, that I included them in Lisa the robot girl’s tattoos. Beautiful photos.
How very cool! I imagine they would make a striking tattoo!
Wow, what beauties! Nature’s palette on display. Thanks, Cindy.
Thank you more for appreciating them Rosaliene!
i give them my vote for nature’s most beautiful duck. The photography is pretty amazing too — the rippling of the water over the feet and the droplets of water on the breast and those colors — WOW. The water surrounding the duck looks like a Monet painting.
You have a very observant eye Colleen. They are definitely incredibly beautiful creatures. Thank you for noticing and taking the time to comment on the details my friend! <3
Wowza! What beautiful colors.
And they had docile personalities to match!
Reblogged this on Random Ramblings; Myriad Musings and commented:
Beautiful Mandarin ducks – lovely to see!
😎
The 🦆🦆🦆 and I are so grateful for you! Thank you for your kind thoughtfulness~ <3
They are beautiful, and quite majestic – you captured them perfectly!
😀
Ahhh, thanks so much & cheers to you!
Wow! Such beauty!
I was taken aback by them too!
I just love them!! What delightful subjects for photography. You will forever think of them when you think of Baden-Baden!
You are so correct. They will be forever associated together in my mind!
Unbelievable colours they have. Thanks for sharing Cindy.
Leslie
Thank you for appreciating them. I think they are definitely used to being gawked at!
🙂
Oh sooooo much gorgeousness that you captured so well!
Alison <3
Thank you Alison! I was quite jazzed to happen upon them! Cheers to you my friend~
Wow to their colorful and intricate designs!
Yes, they have all these different colored, textured, shaped and printed feathers!
Such vibrant colours!!
And such different shapes and textures to the feathers!
Yes, they are just as colorful as Wood Ducks, or perhaps maybe even more so.
Wood ducks are beautiful too!
The certainly are…..I love them….now if I could only get a good shot of them in flight!!
Well, first you’d have to find them! I watched them for two days. Four ducks. All males. Didn’t move much. They were waiting for the females who had yet to arrive. I don’t know if the females ever arrived. I would love to go back and photograph the ducklings if the females do show up!
I know what you mean…you need to be so patient sometimes in order to get the shot….something I’m still working on.
Definitely the most challenging type of photography~
So beautiful AND adorable!!
And they make the softest, sweetest little peeping noise, no loud quacking for these fashionistas!
Strikingly beautiful! 🙂
They are amazing aren’t they!
They are wonderful, and always look like they were invented by Mondrian or someone similar.
They do look exactly like that! Love it! Mondrians!
I had no idea they are this beautiful. Baden-Baden ain’t going anywhere. So I guess it can wait! 🙂
Their beauty surprised me too! 🦆
Wow! Such incredible vibrancy! I’d never seen such majestic looking ducks before. 😄
Pretty amazing aren’t they, and so quiet and well behaved!
Gorgeous! They must surely be one of the most cheerful looking animals ever, don’tcha think?
I just found your comment in WP spam! I think are fantastic beasts and I was very lucky to find them! (Thank you JK & Joey!)
What magnificent creatures. No wonder you got side tracked!
First there was one, and then the others came, all males, waiting for the girls to arrive. I hope they do. It would be wonderful for Baden-Baden to have more of these gorgeous creatures!
Those are the most colorful birds I have ever seen!
+1 They are so colorful!
Aren’t they incredible! I was amazed to find them floating along here in Germany!
Great pictures of these beautiful birds!
Amazing aren’t they, and I love the curves and textures of the feathers!
Did you get to see them close to see the textures of the feathers?
I was probably about 15 feet away at the closest and shot with zoom for the details~
Ah, I forget about the zoom 🙂
I can’t live without zoom! <3
Such striking colors makes me wonder how things looked way back in their ancestral tree, in the days of the dinosaurs.
I was also wondering how they evolved. I will google it!
An artist’s palette all on one duck! 😉 Your photos are stunning, Cindy, wow!
Mother Nature gave me a distinct advantage with these lucky duckies! 🦆🦆
These ducks were never around when I wandered through the Allee, along the River Oos….:-)
I thought of you. You said I should go to Baden-Baden. You were right, and the ducks prove it! I hope a huge colony breeds in Germany. They are such gentle ducks. You grew up in a beautiful part of the world.
Gosh what color! And of course, you managed to capture it so vividly with your lens.
Awww, the 🦆🦆 and I thank you!
Fantastic photos. Mandarin ducks are exquisitely colorful aquatic birds. I absolutely love them. What an incredible blessing to see them up close. You captured amazing shots. I’m so thrilled that these Mandarins got in your way! 💚
They got in my way and made my day! So happy you like them as much as I do & cheers to you~ 🦆🦆
These Mandarins are gorgeous!! I am happy they got in your way!
Me too, I was thrilled to see these cute little quackers! 🦆🦆
Wow! Gorgeous capture of those stunning birds.
Honored, thank you, and the 🦆🦆 thank you too!
🙂
Cindy those ducks are amazing!!
They really are something special!
Like living art these birds. Gorgeous captures.
Living Art would have been a great title for the post! 🦆
Ohh, what a find! Mandarins in the wild in Germany, I would’ve stopped everything too, Cindy. Fantastic photos!
It is good to know we both have our priorities straight! Quack~ 🦆
Gorgeous! They almost don’t look real!
I had to include google image search results because people couldn’t believe the photos weren’t doctored!
Right! So beautiful!
🦆
We are totally blown away by the colors of those birds! They look more like paintings than real birds!
Mother Nature was in a very creative mood when she designed these guys! 🦆🦆
Wow!! These ducks are beautiful! I’ve never seen such brilliant colors on ducks!
Colors, textures, shapes and hair-dos, these 🦆🦆 got it going on! Cheers to you my friend and great to hear from you~
To be honest, I had never enjoyed such vivid colors in such tender birds. They are beautiful photos. A recess for the view.
Lovely! Thank you so much! You make me happy I took them~ 🦆
Reblogged this on WHOLE.
The 🦆🦆and I thank you kindly for your thoughtfulness and send you good cheers from Germany~
you are very welcome, but seriously, those colors are really awesome 🙂
Mother Nature is a quacking good artist!
Ahahaha you did do a good job on capturing that art so kudos to you as well 🙂
So appreciated. Thank you! 🦆
You quacking welcome 😉
😉
😀
Oh how cute are these, Cindy. So colourful and with a little chubby tummy too!
Aren’t they adorable. I would so love to be there to see the ducklings!
Oh yes…they would be even more gorgeous!! 🙂
So delightful! And a bit cheeky looking 💛
Quite confident they deserve all the attention they get and quite experienced in posing for the camera!
I bet Cindy 😄
Completely fabulous, Cindy. They don’t look like real creatures at all – if you tried to describe one, people would laugh! RH
You’re right. I had to include google image search photos so people would believe the photos weren’t doctored!
Wow, you have a wondrfull eye. These photos are just amazing and those ducks are so beautiful. I’m so glad to visit your blog, what an incredible greeting.
What a wonderful comment! Thank you so much! You made my heart smile. Cheers to you and great to meet you~ 🦆
My pleasure, Cindy.
Oh, wow, Cindy. I am so glad you took a detour! –Curt
They didn’t quack either, it was more of a gentle peep, utterly charming little guys waiting for the girls to show up~ 🦆
“waiting for the girls to show up.” It’s our job. (grin)
laughing…..
Wow, a color show! Beautiful images!
Aren’t they incredible. Apparently there are some wild ones in Northern California, but I have never seen them~
Oh, Cindy, not only are these ducks colorful, they are the cutest ducks ever!
I agree with you and you should hear their sweet little peeps. They don’t quack, they peep. So adorable~ 🦆
Gorgeous photos of gorgeous ducks. Maybe there really is something healthy about the waters in Baden-Baden.
They are spa ducks and they get the treatment on the cheep!!! 😉