RINGWOOD A pair of Mandarin ducks, the male decked out in unusual colorful markings and a long swept back crest, visited Cupsaw Lake recently and created a sensation when local residents spotted them. Since Mandarin ducks are not indigenous to the United States, there was confusion as to what, exactly, they were. Someone called Mary Jane Drisgula, who is a birdwatcher and member of the Ringwood Garden Club, to see if she could identify them. After taking some photographs and researching them on Google, she found out they were Mandarin ducks. One article, she said, called them the most beautiful ducks in the world. Mandarin ducks are originally from China and Japan and are usually kept in aviaries or zoos in the United States. She felt that the pair may have escaped or someone bought a pair and released them. The ducks were skittish at first, but would come up for food, the male first, always watching over his mate. Drisgula photographed the ducks in a planter on her neighbor’s dock. They ate seeds left over from whatever was planted there last summer. In the evening, the mated pair would settle down for the night on the raft tied to her dock. They stayed around about two weeks and then left. Drisgula investigated various hiding spots on Cupsaw Lake last week in hopes of finding them, but they were gone. Drisgula has come to bird watching recently. Feeding the birds is fairly new to her, but her son Ryan Drisgula who lives on Erskine Lake, not only feeds the birds, but is quite knowledgeable. When she cannot identify a bird, she photographs it and sends it to Ryan who always comes through with the correct name. The garden club recently held a program presented by Judy Cinquina on Feeding Winter Birds. The program sparked Drisgula to tell club members of her experience. (Photos contributed by Mary Jane Drisgula)