Hi
I regularly visit St James's Park so can provide an answer.
The Eider are captive (one wing is clipped) and are resident all year, however they have bred successfully this year and last year and the young have not been pinioned. So far the young have remained in the park and will happily eat bread.
The other species you mention are wild except the Shelduck. These are more problematic. There is a captive pair but there have also been regular sightings this year of a pair that have not had their wings clipped. Their origin is unknown but, along with others, I am treating them as wild birds.
Also one of the White Pelicans is actually fully winged and was 'rescued' from Essex a few years back. While it spends the majority of its time in the park with the other Pelicans it does occasionally stretch its wings and can be seen flying over Central London.
Additional wild birds in the park are Gadwall plus Ruddy Duck and Mandarin, numbers of the latter two species vary throughout he year but fully winged birds are frequently seen.
The general rule is 'if it has two fully grown wings then it's probably wild' is generally the best bet although there's been an Emperor Goose that appeared out of nowhere and a White-fronted Goose which is paired with a Bar-headed Goose in the park. Neither of these are part of the collection but clearly aren't 'wild'. And the Red-crested Pochard are also free-flying but aren't wild either. Keeping track of this lot is next to impossible and it makes recording extremely difficult.
Bloody wildfowl!
----- Original Message -----From: DavidSent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 7:02 PMSubject: [londonbirders] Waterfowl in central London?Hi all,
I'm quite unfamiliar with British birds and during my first trip to
Europe last month I had the opportunity to do some birding at St.
James's Park. Some waterfowl species were obviously non-native and
kept for ornamental purposes (Ruddy Shelduck, whistling-ducks,
pelicans, etc.) It was unclear though, whether the Common Eider were
free-flying birds. I saw at least 4 or 5 individuals, including a male
eclipse, female, and juvenile. It was odd to see them on a small
inland lake but I can't imagine how they could be kept there
year-round. The species I took to be "wild" were Canada Goose,
Pochard, Shelduck, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, and Mute Swan.
Am I correct in those assumptions? Thanks in advance for any
information.
David
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