Kingfishers on canals?

[HamieRaptorcliff]

Hey All

A neighbour of mine says he saw a Kingfisher perced on the canal bridge near where I live (Shropshire/Staffordshire border). He said the Kingfisher kept flying from the bridge into the canal bank, and then returning.

I went down there the weekend for a gander, but didnt see it my myself. Though something did dash past me just as it was getting too dark to make out colours, etc. But that might have been my overactive imagination.

I have read, albeit in the newspapers, that Kingfisher's are now being found on canals, following the significant clean up work over the last 10-15 years. I just wondered how common this is, and how likely it is that this was indeed a Kingfisher that my neighbour spotted?

Out of interest, is there sufficient food for Kingfisher's in the canal, and how do they find it? Forgive my lack of knowledge on this, but I had assumed they would spot food in the water and pounce. Must be more difficult in the less visible water of our canals?

H

[thebeard]

i have found that even on canals where there is a lot of boat traffic, the water remains reasonably clear, due to the fact that there isnt a lot of sediment in the water as there are generally not many natural banks or substrates. Canals also hold huge numbers of small fish as compared to rivers they are a lot easier to live in (no fast flows, more stable temperature/depth etc. therefore on relatively undisturbed stretches of canals i guess kingfishers would be very much at home, although nesting oppurtunities on many canals must be slim.

In sleaford, lincs, where i grew up there is a disused canal which does have a more natural feel to it as it leaves the town. Back in january me and my dad had a wander down and saw lots of kingfishers feeding in the clear waters, fishing very successfully. only ten or so years ago this particular waterway, very close to where i saw the kingfishers in fact, was subject to a pretty bad pollution incident which killed off a large proportion of the introduced rainbow trout that lived there. These haven't really come back, but there are now large numbers of native fish such as roach and perch living in the river, and the kingfisher shows how well it has recovered.

[Tringa]

Don't know how common Kingfishers are generally around canals, but in the mid to late eighties I worked in an office overlooking the Limehouse Cut in east London. The Limehouse Cut was then a typical canal and kingfishers, while not common were certainly not uncommon.

There my be some advantages to canals for kingfishers - there is a stable amount of water and they rarely freeze.

[Pete Collins]

I've seen kingfishers a few times on the part of the Grand Union Canal around Berkhamsted and Tring, and its two 'arms' that branch off to Wendover and Aylesbury. I think my last sighting was actually in Berkhamsted, or if not the adjoining Northchurch. I'd not seen one in a built up area before.

[JeffH]

Kingfishers are now frequently seen on many canals throughout the UK and there has certainly been something of a resurgence in recent years as more and more of our waterways have been cleaned up.

Having said that, I can recall seeing my very first Kingfisher more than 50 years ago as it flew alongside the Leeds and Liverpool canal in the industrial north west. I can only imagine that it was using the canal as a flight path back in those days as the water was so polluted and full of rubbish that you could almost walk across it without getting your feet wet

However, there were a number of canalside 'flashes' in the area which were heavily stocked with fish and which the Kingfisher presumably used as its feeding grounds.

So yes HamieRaptorcliff, it's quite likely that what your neighbour saw was indeed a Kingfisher

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)

[artdemole]

Whilst walking the Kennet and Avon canal a week or so a go. Travelling along the tow path Between Bradford and Avon Wharf to Avoncliffe Aquaduct.With a lot of barges up and down. A kingfisher flashed past and we saw it flying along the canal for a long way.It was obviously used to that stretch and will keep an eye open for it next visit.

[HamieRaptorcliff]

Thanks for the info - it seems that there is a very good chance that it was indeed a Kingfisher then.

I feel that I can now justify the fact that I'm going to spend my hard earned afternoon off trying to spot it.

Be interesting to know if its actually taken up residence on the canal, or just on its travels to a more permanent spot.

Cheers all.