Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis

Getting out and about in the great outdoors is brilliant. Sometimes there's nothing more required than a bit of exercise or looking at some great, or even some fairly mundane, views. Sometimes, however, you get to experience a bit of wildlife that can be a bit out of the ordinary and unexpected. This is what happened to Lucy and myself a couple of days ago on one of our local wanders. We saw a Kingfisher. We weren't looking for one and we certainly didn't expect to see one at our local river, the river that has a stinky, old tyre factory next to it!

It was like an arrow fired from a bow, that's how fast it was. If it was any colour other than electric blue, I'd have missed it. Luckily as quickly as it fired past us, it settled on a branch across the other side of the river. It was fishing, that was our thought anyway. These thoughts were soon validated as it darted off again, but a minute or two later came back with a little fish firmy held between its beak! We've seen Kingfishers before, we even 'chased' one in a little boat in the Norfolk Broads (where the photo above was taken), but we've never seen one at tea-time!

As it settled to eat its catch it became hard to see. It was face on to us, so it's rusty-orange front merged into the surroundings. Luckily it took a few attempts to arrange the fish head first ready for eating.

Lucy did wonder if maybe it had chicks. I wasn't sure so sure, as I felt it was quite late in the year. But the books do say that eggs are laid between April and July and that incubation is 20 days. So maybe it was having a quick break from feeding the kids. Or maybe, as it takes 25 days from hatching for a young one to fly and start hunting for itself, this was a parent enjoying some time off before starting the whole cycle again next year!

Either way, it was a brilliant sighting and a great indicator that the stinky, old tyre factory isn't doing any damage - as Kingfishers are indicators of a healthy river. Those 10 minutes will bring enjoyment for years.

Date photographed: May 2009
Location: Melksham - River Ant on the Norfolk Broads
Resources: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/k/kingfisher/index.aspx