I heard from some fellow birders online that there was a pair of mandarin ducks living in a pond about an hour's drive south of me, so I grabbed my gear and headed off to find said lovely anatidae. They were indeed there, two drakes and a hen, and I spent a pleasant hour or so snapping photos of these colorful - and decidedly NON-native - ducks. The story I got was that a well-to-do neighbor living near a local park purchased the birds and set them loose in the park's rather large pond, where they have apparently taken up residence. The locals near the park smile indulgently at the photographers with long lenses who show up periodically to take photos of the ducks, and don't seem to mind visitors from out of town descending on the park to catch a glimpse or some photos of the resident celebrities...