Chasing Kingfishers
At the start of 2021, and with continuing coronavirus restrictions of one form or another, I set myself a goal which I hoped could be accomplished in my local area by the end of the year, but would still be quite the challenge. It sounded a simple one, but one which would open up a whole new world as I started to turn into a wildlife-watcher: photograph a Kingfisher.
These little birds are the jewel of any of England's waterways. Although they are called the 'Common Kingfisher' there isn't anything 'common' about these brightly coloured birds. Their blue & orange plumage means they are unmistakeable when spotted. They are a small, dumpy bird, only slightly larger than a Robin, but with short legs. Male Kingfishers have a fully black beak, whereas the underside of the beak is orange in females - and an easy way to remember this is that 'the females wear lipstick'.
A Kingfisher's diet primarily consists of small fish and aquatic insects. They prefer slow moving, clear water, with overhanging branches from where they can dive, although they are known to hover, or use fences or railings by the side of a river. Once they have a suitable perch a few feet above water, they then wait patiently for a fish to swim by. Whilst perched, they will also 'bob' their head as a way to judge the distance of a dive in relation to the fish. The dive is quick, and over in a flash. Their beak has evolved to make it perfectly aerodynamic for the task at hand - so much so that the design of the Japanese Bullet Train was inspired by the beak of a Kingfisher.
As it dives head first into the water, it closes its third, translucent eyelid, and folds it's wings back to resemble a dart. Once hitting the water, and hopefully catching a fish, it will fly back out and onto another nearby perch. If the fish is still alive, a curious trait is for the Kingfisher to bash the fish against the branch to either stun or kill it, before expertly jostling the fish in its beak in order to swallow it head first. During mating season, male Kingfishers will 'gift' a caught fish to a potential mate. In this case, the bird will rotate the fish so it's head is at the tip of the beak, before passing it to the female bird. This is also the case when parent birds are feeding their young.
The only problem with photographing them is firstly trying to find them. They can fly pretty fast, & can cover quite a large area in a small amount of time. However, they can most commonly be found on rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and gravel pits. But, if anyone does manage to spot one, it is usually just a flash of blue speeding fast & low down the river. I had a specific shot in mind, and the trick to getting that is trying to find where they perch.
There are a number of locations in my local area which are known as having resident Kingfishers - in fact there is even a local footpath known as the Kingfisher Trail which runs for 14 miles from Jumbles Reservoir on the edge of the West Pennine Moors, following the Croal-Irwell valley through Bolton's urban centre, to Philips Park in Prestwich. My challenge to photograph a Kingfisher would involve spending quite a bit of time at locations along the Kingfisher trail, and more!
I've come to realise that there are a few 'indicator' species, which I've noticed primarily appear in the same locations as Kingfishers, so its a good bet that if these three species are present at a location, theres a pretty good chance Kingfishers are too. These are: Grey Wagtails, Dippers & Grey Heron.
All these species live & feed around rivers, lakes & canals - just like Kingfishers - so if they're present, the conditions must be right for our little Blue & Orange friends too.
The Grey Wagtail's name really doesn't do it justice. They are a beautiful little bird, light grey, with black & white on their wings & tail, with a yellow under-belly. They can usually be seen on river-banks, constantly 'bobbing' & wagging their long tail, hopping from rock to rock.
Dippers are a Britain's only aquatic songbird. With black & brown plumage, they expertly blend into their surroundings - the only giveaway is their white 'bib'. They are very timid birds, and are usually found in pairs. Similar to Kingfishers, they fly very fast & direct along the top of the water. They get their name by the way they 'dip' their bodies facing into flowing water to catch their food.
The Grey Heron is one of my favourite birds. At almost a meter tall, it's sheer size means there's no mistaking one when you see it. Although, it can stand statue-like on river & canal banks, as it silently stalks it's prey, and so could be easily missed by an untrained eye. However, Heron's don't just eat fish - they will eat almost anything! They are known to eat newts, ducklings / goslings, and even small mammals such as voles, mice and rats.
To get the ball rolling, after some initial research, in January I paid my first visit to Seven Acres Country Park in Bolton (see the full blog about this park here). Amazingly, I caught a glimpse of the Kingfisher as I was following the path beside the brook mid-afternoon, although it was the ubiquitous 'blue flash' as it flew down-stream. And this was the case on a number of visits (although some times it didn't show up at all).
I read that one way to attract Kingfishers was to place a stick in a river or stream, one suitable for it to perch on, and the temptation of a new fishing spot would be irresistible to it. So, early one morning, I arrived just after sunrise, found a spot by the brook where I had seen the Kingfisher fly-past previously, found a nearby fallen branch, stuck it in the muddy riverbank and waited. After 20 minutes or so I saw the 'blue flash' fly past, down-stream again. It was just a matter of keeping my fingers crossed & waiting for it to fly back. An hour or so later, it did. It was slightly closer to the side of the riverbank with my placed branch, but it flew straight past, back up-stream. At this point, joggers and dog-walkers were starting to turn up, so I removed the perch, and called it a day.
Another nearby location is Burrs Country Park, on the outskirts of Bury. One Friday afternoon after work, I decided to drive across to Burrs to scout it out. Burrs is the site of an old cotton mill, and some ruins of the industry can still be seen across the park - the Burrs Mill chimney being a centre-point to the park. As evidence to the site's industrial past, the East Lancashire Railway runs through the park, as well as the River Irwell, and leading off the river is a 'feeder' canal which leads to Elton Reservoir, a few miles away.
It was a quiet afternoon in the park, not many people about, and as I wandered by the side of the river, to my surprise, I saw my first Kingfisher perched in a bush across the river. I scrambled to power on my camera, locate the bird through the view finder, configure the exposure settings, and try to focus between the branches, and managed to fire off a shot before the bird flew away. It was far from being the best photograph of a Kingfisher (it wasn't even facing in my direction for a start!), but it was my first ever photograph of a Kingfisher & I was over the moon with it!
I came away from Burrs that afternoon with a huge grin on my face. I would return to Burrs a number of times, sometimes the Kingfisher would make a fleeting appearance as it flew up river - other times there were no signs of it at all. However, Burr's did become my 'go-to' place to photograph Heron, which I commonly spotted along the feeder canal.
The issues I found at both Seven Acres and Burrs Country Park's is that there was quite a stretch of river to walk, and the Kingfisher could potentially be anywhere along it. A couple of times I decided to try and stick to one section of the river in the hope a Kingfisher would make an appearance, but even on the better occasions, it was just a fly-past I witnessed. In order to get a 'perched' shot, I would need to find a small pond where Kingfishers were known to actively fish.
After some research, I found a location just a couple of junctions up the motorway from me. Just outside Chorley lies Yarrow Valley Country Park. The park contains a couple of old mill lodges, and the river Yarrow flows through the park. At the eastern end of the park, the river flows over a picturesque weir & 'fish ladder'.
So I bet you're wondering: what is a 'fish ladder'? Well, basically its a set of 'steps' by the side of the weir which help fish travelling up-river back to their spawning ground. Subsequently, this is a good spot to look out for dippers, and if you're lucky, a Heron. However, from my experience, the best chance of sighting a Kingfisher at Yarrow Valley is on the 'top lodge', which has been left to go 'back to nature' (whereas around the big lodge its not uncommon to see fishermen). It has a slightly more secluded position & is sided by overhanging tree branches make it a much more suitable location for the Kingfisher.
Unfortunately, there aren't that many good, unobscured viewpoints overlooking the top lodge - theres a screen hide tucked away in one corner (aptly named 'Kingfisher corner'), and a small pier at another. And if you're very lucky, the 'Kingy' may just make an appearance. Also in 'Kingfisher corner' is a narrow, overgrown channel which links the Top Lodge to the Big Lodge, and this is also a favoured fishing location for the Kingfisher, but it is quite a shaded spot, so can be tricky to get a good shot if the light isn't too great. It can also be quite crowded with photographers jostling for a good view through the branches! But if you don't have any luck with the Kingfisher, Yarrow Valley is also a good place to spot Jays, Buzzards and even has a resident Bank Vole, as well as the usual array of woodland birds.
I have seen the Kingfisher a number of times at Yarrow Valley. They're not wrong when they say Kingfishers are fast little birds. It's usually just down to a split second of seeing the Kingfisher land, taking a photograph, before its on its way again. I had heard that Kingfisher's do have a routine though, and return to favoured perches if they know its a good place to fish.
Travelling in the opposite direction, just outside Stockport is Reddish Vale Country Park. Similar to Yarrow Valley, it has a couple of lodges (although neither are as big as those at Yarrow Valley), the River Tame runs through the park and a large railway viaduct also crosses over the park, but, of particular interest is Sunnyside Pool, a large pond secluded in some woodland, which is known to be a fishing spot for our little blue & orange friend.
At one end of the pool is a short promenade with benches and a small wooden pier. On a sunny day, this is a lovely little spot to sit and patiently wait, although you won't be alone for long, as Robins, Grey Squirrels, Collared Doves, and Jays all frequent the area too. A narrow muddy path then heads through the trees, surrounding the rest of the pond.
I've spotted the Kingfisher on the pond a couple of times, the first time he was fishing and preening for a short while, however the tree he was perched in was on the far side of the pond - the above photo was taken at full zoom (600mm) and is heavily cropped, but you can just make out a fish in its beak.
Reddish Vale is also known to have resident Ring Necked Parakeets, as well as Mandarin Ducks, two particularly colourful species which I had never seen before!
The final location I was to visit was Pennington Flash just down the road in Leigh. This is a large park containing a few large 'flashes' - which are lakes caused by subsidence, either on the site of an old industrial complex, or from old subterranean mine workings. In the case of Pennington Flash, the lakes were created in the early 20th century following mine subsidence from nearby coal shafts from the Bickershaw Colliery. The area was turned into a recreational park & nature reserve in 1981.
Pennington Flash has a number of bird hides dotted in various locations. Unfortunately on my first few visits, these were all closed due to the coronavirus restrictions in place at the time, but in the summer of 2021, they reopened.
The hides differ in capacity, and whilst for the main part, they overlook the flashes, one hide - the Bunting hide - is in a small woodland clearing and has feeding stations set up to attracts various birds and wildlife, of particular note are Bullfinches, Long Tailed Tits & Reed Buntings.
However its the hides that overlook the open water that I was interested in, and on reading up about the reserve, two of the hides in particular were ideal for Kingfisher sighting. Both had perches set up in the waterline, so it was just a matter of taking a seat on a wooden bench, and playing the waiting game to see what appeared.
Being medium to large lakes, Pennington Flash attracts an abundant array of wildfowl, and to keep me occupied whilst waiting for a Kingfisher. I could watch Mute Swans, Cormorants, Grey Heron, Teal, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebes, Little Grebes, Lapwing as well as numerous Coots & Moorhen.
On a couple of occasions, I chatted to other people who popped into the hide - some sharing their success stories of getting a photo - others explaining they weren't so lucky. One chap even brought in a sling-shot, armed with fish food, and began to fire the food into the water - the idea being if he attracts the fish, the Kingfisher would follow. It didn't (at least not whilst I was there).
On a separate visit however, and after not waiting all that long (20 mins at most), in the corner of my eye, I spotted a blue flash come to land on a tree just outside of the bird hide. My camera was already at the ready, so quickly focusing, I took a couple of shots before the Kingfisher went on its way.
In summary, Kingfishers are gorgeous little birds, and being quite elusive, are quite the challenge to photograph. I can see I'll be continuing to try and get a 'perfect' shot of one for some time to come.
To end the blog, I feel its important to note that the Kingfisher is a protected bird species under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. This means it is illegal to photograph a Kingfisher 'at or near its nest' without a Schedule 1 license. None of the Kingfisher photographs I have taken have been shot 'at or near its nest' to the best of my knowledge.
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