‘Bold as brass' duck poses for photos in Edinburgh's New Town

The male mallard stopped for a different kind of “shoot” than it was used to.

A dauntless duck has been photographed relaxing on a New town doorstep.

The male mallard was spotted on Atholl Place by nearby resident Dr Andrew Tod, 84, while he was out for his daily 10 mile walk.

He said: "For a second I walked past and then I did a double take. At first I thought it might be a statue or some such, people do leave such dross on their doorstep these days, and then the blasted thing moved.

A dauntless duck has been photographed relaxing on a New town doorstep.

But once the doctor realised it was genuine, the duck proved he was no chicken.

“He looked at me as bold as brass, and cocked his head as if to say 'what's your problem?'

"In actual fact I have never been fond of ducks,” Dr Tod admitted, “unless they are crispy, Chinese and on pancakes, so I took the photos with my trusty phone and then got out sharpish.

"I know we have seen all sorts more wildlife in the city centre since the lockdown, from foxes and badgers and i am positive somebody told they saw a deer on Gorgie Road the other day, but he is definitely not from round here, I can’t think where the nearest pond even is."

“He looked at me as bold as brass, and cocked his head as if to say 'what's your problem?'

A Message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Joy Yates

Editorial Director