December River Cole and Rea, Kingfisher pairs

After great year for finding Birmingham kingfisher it has continued into December with kingfisher on the River Rea, Cole, Bourn and Bourn Brook. The Bourn Brook has another wintering kingfisher in the same spot after last years wintering juvenile. I got a nice surprise when I found a kingfisher on the Bourn, Stirchley, I'd never seen one there before. The best sighting have been the pair of kingfisher on the River Cole at the start of the Kingfisher Country Park. I've seen them either side of a bridge fishing, having a bit of a squabble and chasing each other and then flying along the river together. There is then a pair of kingfisher on the River Rea, they are about a mile apart. I saw kingfisher in the same area last winter. They are by the nests they had in the Spring and Summer. I assume they are the same birds. Not been able to get a photo.

My first Sea Kingfisher

I visited Brighton Marina, my parents live nearby. I've seen a couple reports of a Kingfisher in the past few months. I walked past the restaurants looking closely as the boats. I then got to the path in front of the apartments that look over the Marina harbour. I could have only been there 10 minutes when I heard the distinctive two tone call of a kingfisher calling over the top of a few starlings chattering that were on the apartment roofs. I scanned the harbour in front of and there it was flying past, a kingfisher. It landed on a boat mooring rope and if I'd had my camera with me, I could have got a photo. It then flew off and I lost it in amongst the boats. I think I heard it calling again later but I couldn't see it. What a result though, my first sea kingfisher. Great!!

Six Kingfisher Week

On Friday I stopped at Bittell Reservoir and was lucky to time it right that a Kingfisher was on a perch and it flew across the reservoir and it gave a call as it went up the river next to the reservoir. On both the Saturday and the Sunday morning, the Kingfisher was again present on the Bourn Brook at it's usual spot on a perch. Same for the Small Heath, Kingfisher Country Park, River Cole, Kingfisher it was in the same spot both Saturday and Sunday morning. It flew up the River Cole. The River Rea Kingfisher was also in the same spot but on the Sunday was a little further down the river, which gave me the chance to watch it catch a fish, do some hovering and then fly down the river. The Hall Green, Yardley Wood, Trittiford, River Cole kingfisher on the Saturday was in Hall Green on a perch over the River Cole. On the Sunday it was just down from Trittiford, flying along the river with the sun shining on it, making it appear more green than blue. It stopped a couple times on perches over the river before it was disturbed by dogs in the river and it flew back up to Trittiford. With all these sightings I wished I had the camera to get some photo's. In the week, I had finally found my works patch kingfisher on Langdon fishing lake, EWT. I was up early so had a look and it flew across the lake at the sluice end and gave a call. We also found it sheltering from the wind, having a rest in the trees next to the path. All in all a pretty good week for kingfisher sightings.

Four Birmingham Kingfisher

I've now got a route that takes in four regular Birmingham kingfisher. The first is on the Bourn Brook, it's an adult male. This is where a juvenile female wintered last year. What is good about this years is, I never know where it's going to appear from. It seems to like a number of perches. Sometimes first thing in the morning with a small amount of light I can just see it fly past. The next is on the River Rea, I'm hopeful it's the juvenile female from the Bourn Brook. Though it could be another male, as there was one here over the summer and then another passed through which spooked the female and had to be chased off by the male. Last year an adult female wintered on this section. The next kingfisher spot is the River Cole at Small Heath/Kingfisher Country Park. Again there was also a male kingfisher here last winter. What has made this winter sighting interesting, is that I have found a pair a couple times. One time they were happily fishing either side of a bridge, another time they where sat together and then they were chasing and calling each other. The fourth kingfisher is again on the River Cole but this time at Yardley Wood/Trittiford. Late winter of 2013 there was a kingfisher further along this section at Sarehole with another further down at Sparkhill. They then moved up to Hall Green over the summer of 2014, where they had a nest and chick. I have checked along Sarehole but not get lucky this winter. I'm looking forward to the holidays to get some more time and check the fifth (or sixth) kingfisher on the Bourn, just down the road from me. I've seen it reported recently. Got to find it again!!