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Wood duck spotted in Belarus for first time

Photo courtesy of Yuri Shashenko

MINSK, 20 January (BelTA) – A new bird species for Belarus – the wood duck or Carolina duck – was sighted near Grodno, BelTA learned from the APB BirdLife Belarus public association.

“Thanks to freezing weather and a lot of snow we have sighted birds that are rarely seen in our country. Many birds try to keep close to open water. During such weather, such places are fewer, so it is easier to sight rare birds. At times, we can see something unexpected. For example, on 17 January, we spotted a wood duck on the Neman River, for the first time ever in Belarus. These birds were often seen in the wild in Lithuania and Poland, but are new for Belarus,” the APB BirdLife Belarus said.

The Carolina duck is a North American species. In Europe, they are kept in zoos and private collections. So far, wild wood ducks from North America reached only Iceland. Wood ducks spotted in the wild in Europe are recorded as birds that escaped from captivity. This is why Carolina ducks observed in European countries, apart from Iceland, are not added to the main list of species compiled by ornithologists for each country.

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