SARBN: Ferruginous Ducks

[Trevor Hardaker]

These 2 Ferruginous Ducks at Paarl Bird Sanctuary are still of interest to me...

These birds occur in small numbers south of the Sahara right across Africa from Cameroon in the west to Kenya in the east. The timing of their arrival here would also seem to suit a reverse migrant, so I suppose a little more investigation is required...

Does anyone have contacts for local waterfowl collectors who may know how many of this species are kept locally or might even know if someone has "lost" a pair?

I suspect that there might be a reasonable chance that these are genuine vagrants, although it is going to be tough to prove one way or the other. I will, however, make an effort to go and see them tomorrow to look at what condition they are in e.g. look for any evidence of feather wear, rings, etc and watch their behaviour. And just to make sure that I have the "insurance tick" in the bag...:)

I don't think we should write these off as escapees just yet before doing a little more research...

Yours in anticipation,
Trevor

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