Of the many non-native species to England is the Ruddy Shelduck. It was sitting near another bird, whose identity is still unknown to me--my bird ID app that I use is stumped, and a Google image search didn't help either. In any case, this little one was otherwise all by itself. According to this site, there are only a couple of breeding pairs here--again, probably for the best--but it's quite a pretty one. I love the warm rusty colour if its plumage. I must admit that I think this thing looks like it has a damaged wing. It will survive well enough in St James's Park because there are constantly visitors there feeding the birds. In that sense, the birds do not need to worry about basic survival, but you always wonder if it's uncomfortable or painful. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I should contact the park to see if they can do something about it. Perhaps it was fine, but perhaps it needs to be checked. I'm still trying to figure out who to contact if I see birds that are or might be in distress. For now, this is the only photo I was able to get.
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