Gone fishing!
BIRDERS who want a bit of variety – especially during the quieter (in birding terms) summer months – have traditionally turned to such things as butterflies and dragonflies, maybe crickets, or wild orchids. How often, though, have you heard someone say they’ve just had a great view of a Tench or a Silver Bream?
Fish – unless you are an angler – remain grossly underrated as creatures that can be watched and appreciated. Yet there is huge enjoyment in looking at a Brown Trout or a European Grayling, or a shoal of Common Dace or European Chub sparkling in a clear chalk stream; maybe a feisty European Perch or the golden-bronze roll of a Common Barbel’s flank.
If nothing else, look for minnows, which will mean you are in good Common Kingfisher territory. Kingfishers are, despite a somewhat overbalanced shape, among the most gloriously beautiful of all Europe’s birds and really are worth seeking out. Despite their colours they can be elusive: the sound of a hollow ‘plop’ of a diving bird or a high chi-kee call of one flying by might be the best first clue.
In the absence of waterside perches, they may hover over open water to look for fish, but usually they perch and dive. Pairs can fly higher and away from water when displaying, with repeated calls, but usually they stick to the waterway, flying along a river unless forced to swing out briefly to avoid people on the bank. Sit quietly, look and listen and you should be in with a chance of a decent view: and it is well worth it. Rob Hume