Right time to see kingfisher
IAM using my short walk along the river to keep an eye out for our most colourful and iconic fisherman, the kingfisher.
I have been told by people, standing two metres away from me (or the length of a wafting broom), that kingfishers have been spotted on our local waterway this year, so I am keen to see one.
There is every reason for optimism, the mild winter will have helped the birds so we should have a healthy clutch of young in the coming months.
Kingfishers are notoriously susceptible to freezing cold winters. And, obviously, frozen streams and lakes are not good for winter fishing exploits.
There has been little ice and snow, so our kingfishers will be fit and ready to breed over spring and summer.
And let’s not forget the improvements in water quality across the North West, we have all done our bit to help these creatures.
The present crisis has also meant a lessening in water pollution and litter, so even this devastating virus cloud has a silver lining.
I have had only a few kingfisher experiences.
On my local river a couple of years ago, I spotted something staring at the dog from an overhanging branch.
I watched the bird watching the dog for, probably, two minutes before it spotted me and flew away.
I didn’t have my camera.
Then I was walking with a BBC journalist around a nature reserve in Oswaldtwistle recording a live radio interview, when a kingfisher flew across our paths and settled on a branch on the edge of a stream.
It was almost as if I had asked the bird to appear to add colour to my story.
Many people will have seen the flash of azure blue and metallic copper as a kingfisher flies past but, if you are lucky, you will see them in all their glory sitting on a designated branch pretty much every day.
They will have found a position overlooking the water in an attempt to spot a fish swimming by
Kingfishers are small birds, with a wingspan of only 25cm and a lifespan of, generally, two years.
The striking mix of its bright-blue back and metallic copper breast make the kingfisher one of our most recognisable birds.
Males have an entirely black bill, females have an orangey-red patch at the base. Kingfishers breed near lowland watercourses and lakes that have suitable banks for burrowing nests and shallow edges for feeding.
They occasionally visit
. gardens if you have a pond. If your short walk allows you to get near a riverbank this spring look out for that flash of blue and marvel at the beautiful kingfisher.