Saturday 2 July 2016

Good and bad 2016

The good for 2016 was the most amazing 30 to 40 minutes I spent where I got caught up in two territorial Kingfishers having a dispute. I'd never seen any Kingfisher display like it. Kingfisher usually fly off. But these two were not so bothered by me as they chased after each other and kept reappearing as I walked along the River Cole. One kingfisher would fly round and around in big circles, over the river, going in and out of the trees, whilst another was on the river. It flew around in a circle for more than ten times at three places, so circling over thirty times over the river for over half a mile as I walked along and stopped to watch them. They then would chase each other along the river and through the trees, circling, around and around. Then they would stop on a tree over the river or next to the river. A few times the kingfisher was in the tree next to me, having a rest or hiding. As it was doing it's circling it also had a quick rest on the TV aerial of a bungalow opposite the river. It also flew through the trees/woods a few times, right past me or on the river right next to me. At one point I ducked down to watch them flying along the river and the Kingfisher flew a foot over my head as it went through the trees. They were amazing going up and down the river. Each time I thought they'd stop, they would only fly back or I would find them again. They were still doing it as I left them. They were making a right racket, calling to each other. I can only assume it was a territorial dispute between 2 males. It certainly did not look like courtship or the young being chased away. It was crazy. I'd never seen anything like that before. I've seen a few chases but not this prolonged and intense. Great!! The bad was the second Kingfisher nest of the year on the River Rea, Selly Park, it must has got flooded after all the rain and then high water levels. I'd only watched the Kingfisher a couple weeks earlier preparing this nest and flying in and out and then after the rain and floods they were no longer nesting at this location. I saw them again as a couple near by but then just saw a lone kingfisher flying along this section to further up the river. Hopefully they found a new nest location.