On the prowl for colorful and rare Mandarin duck at Ridley Park Lake
RIDLEY PARK >> Borough residents Linda Saylor and Michael Rapp of Glenolden were seated on a bench Tuesday afternoon on the shores of Ridley Park Lake, taking in some warm rays of the sun and waiting patiently, binoculars at the ready, for a glimpse of a colorful, rare Mandarin duck said to have been hanging around the lake for some time now along with the usual gaggle of Canada geese.
“I saw it on Facebook and it is beautiful,” Saylor said. “It’s got all kind of colors.”
Rapp said he saw the story about the duck he identified as a Mandarin duck on a TV newscast a few nights ago.
According to the couple, many people were at the lake Monday hoping to see the duck. On Tuesday a handful of people stopped by to try their luck. But with the geese gathered on the still frozen lake, anyone hoping to see the Mandarin duck would be hard pressed to spot it.
To get where they wanted to get on the lake the geese had to walk on top of the ice coating in spite of temperatures that passed the 60-degree mark.
Crossing Guard Madeline Krah was at her usual station on Constitution Avenue, across from the lake, when she was asked about the unusual duck.
“It is gorgeous,” she enthused. “It has been here since Christmas, mingling with the geese. It would come up to people. It is very, very friendly.”
But Krah said the Mandarin hasn’t been around lately.
“I heard a fox got it,” she said.
Colleen Scattolini, a secretary at the borough administration office, said she has not had any phone calls from residents about the colorful duck.
“And the highway men haven’t reported anything about the duck,” she said.
The borough highway maintenance building is right across Ridley Avenue from the lake.