places to see kingfishers in the uk

[243kingfisher]

Hi Everone,

I thought that we should have a thread avaliable for everybodys ideas on where the best places are to spot kingfishers in the uk, so that other people reading the posts will have an idea on were to look for them. As sometimes they can at first be rather tricky to find at first!

Many Thanks

Chris!

[rossy]

where do you live chris.? rossy.

[243kingfisher]

inbetween staffordshire & cheshire.

thanks, chris

[solus]

Please do not forget that Kingfishers are Schedule 1 birds and that any disturbance close to the breeding area is illegal. Also, publicising sites may be detrimental to the welfare of the birds - there are, regrettably, still nasty folks out there who collect eggs and while they can probably quite readily find their own sites, let's not make it easier for them!

Why not try patiently watching your local stream, lake, gravel pit, canal or (particularly in winter) bit of coastline? Or visit a Nature Reserve where they may be viewed from the comfort of a hide? Minsmere RSPB Reserve in Suffolk and the WWT's Slimbridge Reserve in Gloucestershire are both good places for example.

In my view, nothing quite beats the thrill of seeing your "own" flash of turquoise and orange zipping by....

[243kingfisher]

thanks for the reply solus! I shall try your idea some time this week. what would be the best time of day to see them?

Thanks Chris

[rossy]

a pair on the river down at queens park heywood, which also has sand martins, and in the centre of the lake there, is a heronry, which the rspb, put scopes on last year, you could come down the m62, off at heywood and be in there inside 10 mins, also a pair in healey dell, rochdale, rossy.

[243kingfisher]

Thanks for your suggestion rossy. Will have to take a look there!

Many Thanks

Chris

[gobbiner]

Originally Posted by solus

Please do not forget that Kingfishers are Schedule 1 birds and that any disturbance close to the breeding area is illegal. Also, publicising sites may be detrimental to the welfare of the birds - there are, regrettably, still nasty folks out there who collect eggs and while they can probably quite readily find their own sites, let's not make it easier for them!

Why not try patiently watching your local stream, lake, gravel pit, canal or (particularly in winter) bit of coastline? Or visit a Nature Reserve where they may be viewed from the comfort of a hide? Minsmere RSPB Reserve in Suffolk and the WWT's Slimbridge Reserve in Gloucestershire are both good places for example.

In my view, nothing quite beats the thrill of seeing your "own" flash of turquoise and orange zipping by....

Thats a bit strong , why do people always think the worst, i had this nonsense when i asked about birdsounds, i feel sharing your knowledge about kingfishers with other members far out weighs the chance of an odd idiot who might read this

[Acipiter]

Because unfortunately, there are still these type of people still about, I remember telling a good friend where a pair of l/eared owls were nesting, he then went on to tell anyone and every one, never again.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by gobbiner

Thats a bit strong , why do people always think the worst, i had this nonsense when i asked about birdsounds, i feel sharing your knowledge about kingfishers with other members far out weighs the chance of an odd idiot who might read this

Well I have to say I'm with solus on this.

After two consecutive severe Winters with many fatalities, the last thing these elusive and easily disturbed birds need in the forthcoming breeding season is a published list of where to find them - other than the well-known established and protected sites on nature reserves of course, where they can often be watched safely from hides.

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but the reason that Kingfishers "...can be rather tricky to find..." (as the OP puts it) is that they don't like the presence of humans and if a published list of their whereabouts were to lead to large numbers of people seeking them out but with little or no knowledge of their behaviour and potentially causing illegal disturbance, then I'm afraid their numbers will decline further and they'll become even more difficult to find

In short (and in my view) - if you have to ask where/how to find them, you probably don't know enough about them to watch/photograph them safely.

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