Before New York City's Mandarin duck, there was Burnaby's

Before a Mandarin duck in New York City gained international recognitionthis week, another duck of the same plumage hadalready made several low-key appearancesin Burnabyover the past six months.

Mandarin ducks arerenowned for their dazzling multicolouredfeathersand regarded by some as the world's most beautiful bird.

They're alsonative to East Asia, which is why bird watchers were gobsmacked when one was spotted in Manhattan's Central Park in early October.

Subsequent media reports havedrawn hundreds of onlookers to Central Park and catapulted thebird to Internet fame.

But sincespring, Metro Vancouver has had itsown Mandarin duck floating idly on BurnabyLake, drawing the rapt attention of local bird watchers and nature photographers.

"TheBurnabyLake community has been very Canadian-like and not bothered him too much," said IreneLau, chair of theBurnabyLake Park Association.

"It's kept a respectful distance."

Regular sightings

Sightings of the bird started to pop up in May.

After speaking with several local birders, Lau said it's believedthe duck escaped from a hobby farm, although no one knows which one.

A Mandarin duck was also spotted at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park andthe Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park, although it's unclear whetherit wasthe same one, Lausaid.

ButBurnaby Lake has proven most reliable for bird watchers and photographers, who are regularly stationed alongside the water for a fleeting glimpse of the Mandarin duck, which is a relative of the resident wood duck.

Laufinally came face to face with the bird in late September.

"It's just magnificent," she said."It's wonderful to see pictures, but there's nothing quite like seeing it for yourself."

Don't just look at the water

If you want to catch a glimpse of the elusive duck, make sure to look up. Mandarin ducks like toperch high in trees.

Lau encouragesonlookers to keep a respectful distance and to be ready to use the zoom function on a phone or camera. Use bird seed, not bread, to feed the ducks, she said.

It's not known how much longer the duck will stay but for now, "life is pretty good at the lake," Lau said.