Last weekend was particularly beautiful in New York City, and everyone was outside — lurking like paparazzi around a pond, hoping to get a glimpse of NYC’s hottest new celebrity: the Central Park Mandarin duck.
What are all these people looking at? pic.twitter.com/iUyGVnRd49
— Aaron Sankin (@ASankin) November 5, 2018
It’s the cool duck. The only good thing to look at in 2018 is the cool duck. pic.twitter.com/xoacp21cyw
— Aaron Sankin (@ASankin) November 5, 2018
Big crowds at Central Park to see the Mandarin duck (cc @juliarebeccaj) pic.twitter.com/eDsjZlK9ox
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) November 3, 2018
People have gone crazy for this duck. Real, total, no chill B-A-N-A-N-A-S:
new yorkers love mandarin duck pic.twitter.com/NXeR0ptYJg
— Jenny G. Zhang (@jennygzhang) November 3, 2018
What this visitor is doing for people is AMAZING! EVERYONE is keeping their eye on this birdie! https://t.co/OU72yZhgLV pic.twitter.com/q8ROg7LDjJ
— TheLastLeafGardener (@TheLLGardener) November 4, 2018
These pros showed up in full camo to photograph the #mandarinduck pic.twitter.com/GJeKHKpkyn
— Joanna Chiu 趙淇欣 (@joannachiu) November 3, 2018
Spent the afternoon taking some glamour shots of the ?MANDARIN DUCK? (with hundreds of my closest friends) at The Pond #birdcp via @AlexIsrael pic.twitter.com/XUP3BNMNTF
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) November 3, 2018
All the actual human celebrities in town must be loving it because everyone with a telephoto lens is stationed around the Central Park Pond:
The best thing about the MANDARIN DUCK in Central Park is how excited everyone else is about birds for once! #birdcp via @ecetweets pic.twitter.com/ihOJ5HO1VN
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) November 3, 2018
This incredible #MandarinDuck in @CentralParkNYC showed up out of nowhere over this last week and has made the duck pond its home. I saw dozens and dozens of people come out today to watch it swim. Who knew it would take one colorful duck to bring so many strangers together. pic.twitter.com/OGHXlH6qdr
— Phil Torres (@phil_torres) November 1, 2018
This mandarin duck is the hero we needed, but not the hero we deserve. pic.twitter.com/VDeOp44Uoz
— Phil Torres (@phil_torres) November 1, 2018
He even looks good in a pose that would make the rest of us look totally undignified:
So that’s what I look like. Photo taken at the pond on 10/30/18 #birdcp via @songbird2me pic.twitter.com/NvuaxqFZjG
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) October 31, 2018
There were doubts at first, of course. How often does anything really live up to the hype? But New Yorkers’ famous cool, built up through decades of Robert De Niro movies, has been totally shattered by one fancy duck.
at first I thought the duck would be overhyped. but then I took a good look at it, and you know what? I have to be honest, it’s a beautiful duck pic.twitter.com/vFHGqpU6Or
— ?????? ??????? ? (@angelbyshaggy) November 1, 2018
I love how stone-faced New Yorkers are and how that completely crumbles in the face of a truly fancy-looking duck https://t.co/NfzCuu1sJ6
— alanna kelsey claire bennett (@AlannaBennett) November 4, 2018
We should just start calling ourselves New Duck City
— Jess Go(vote on 11/6)odwin (@thejessgoodwin) November 4, 2018
It’s painting with all the colors of the wind tbh. I stan.
— Jordan (@BenjaminGlutton) November 4, 2018
We should just start calling ourselves New Duck City
— Jess Go(vote on 11/6)odwin (@thejessgoodwin) November 4, 2018
Why is the Central Park Mandarin duck such a big deal?
Uh, have you looked at this creature described by the city’s paper of record the New York Times as “dazzling”?
North America has dozens of ducks, but this guy isn’t from the neighborhood. Central Park’s newest resident is a Mandarin duck, native to East Asia and not found in the wild in the Americas.
The ingenue first appeared mysteriously on Oct. 10, stunning birders at the Central Park Pond (59th Street and Fifth Avenue, on the southeast side of the park). Here’s the viral tweet that started it all from David Barrett, founder of Manhattan Bird Alert:
The Central Park Pond’s newly-arrived male Mandarin Duck (we still do not know how it got here) unseated the Wood Duck as prettiest duck in the park. Gus Keri brings us close-up video pic.twitter.com/cauqVt4kSK
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) October 11, 2018
The duck disappeared for a while after that, and wasn’t spotted again in the park until Oct. 28, swimming among the mallards in Central Park Pond. And this weekend’s gorgeous, clear weather made the Mandarin duck the must-have snap on everyone’s Instagram:
Such a beautiful duck!!!!! Mandarin duck still on 59th street pond , Central Park , NY #birdcp pic.twitter.com/T1Yf6jsqkN
— Sandra Critelli (@alexcritelli7) November 1, 2018
Can confirm, it’s a good duck, Bront. pic.twitter.com/3KhK6WsUcB
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) November 4, 2018
Guess who I saw this morning!!! #MandarinDuck #BirdCP @BirdCentralPark #CentralPark Pond at 59th St pic.twitter.com/KJ8kffLVge
— Holly Laine Mascaro (@hollylaineM) November 1, 2018
Here’s a close-up view of a rare Mandarin duck from Asia that has settled in at a pond in NYC’s Central Park. How it got there is a mystery pic.twitter.com/pzFrRL9OuQ
— Mike Waterhouse (@MikeWaterhouse) November 2, 2018
I swear that duck stole those feathers or evolution is just being unfair.
— Milana Mill (@mill_milana) November 2, 2018
good morning – successfully spotted New York’s newly famous Mandarin duck at the 59th and 5th pond while running!! (https://t.co/YAqRR9Q2RM) cc @BirdCentralPark pic.twitter.com/WIwdO9TgPf
— Sapna Maheshwari (@sapna) November 1, 2018
Look at all that fanciness. The colors! The fancy wind accessories! That swooping mohawk! Maybe this duck will teach us that it’s fine to wear a little color during winter.
Where to find the Central Park duck
There’s a band on its leg, but the city’s zoos and aquarium aren’t missing any of their residents, according to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. “It is likely that this duck escaped captivity or was released,” says John McCoy, deputy director of the Urban Park Rangers, who lead wildlife tours, hikes and campouts in the city. “Unfortunately, it’s not totally uncommon for people to release pets into a park when they can no longer care for them. This is both against Park rules and bad for the animal.”
Happily though, the Central Park duck seems to be doing just fine: “The Mandarin duck is healthy and happily mingling with the mallards of Central Park. While it’s exciting to spot such a rare bird in NYC’s backyard, like every other celebrity sighting, New Yorkers should know to give him space and not to disturb him.”
That includes not feeding him pretzels or bread, which is bad for any duck. They’re keeping an eye on him as the weather gets colder, but unless he’s injured, they’re letting him enjoy his celebrity.
If you want to spot the Central Park Mandarin duck, he’s most commonly been spotted on the Central Park Pond, but has also dabbled in the Turtle Pond at 79th Street in the middle of the park, the Hudson River boat basin and even (gasp) New Jersey.
NY Mag called it ladies, 2019 we trade in our boys for ducks pic.twitter.com/GjfUevih8d
— Matilduh? (@matildajane17) October 30, 2018
BIG DUCK ENERGY
— MsPaint (@GraceMolteni) October 31, 2018
See, immigration only enriches us.
— John Libert PhD (@JohnLibert3) November 1, 2018
Want to help all birds in New York City? Within the five boroughs, the Wild Bird Fund is the only organization that rehabilitates injured birds. The National Audubon Society also works to protect birds in the city and beyond — check out the dozens of bird murals they’re commissioning by local artists in Harlem, home of the organization’s namesake ornithologist John James Audubon.