I saw a kingfisher for the first time the other day. It was just by chance, i was sitting in a pub garden by a river and the kingfisher dived into the water, caught a fish and then sat on the branch of a tree to eat it before flying away. I feel extremely lucky to have seen this, and it's a shame i didn't have my camera. Do kingfishers often come back to the same place, or is it just luck that you are in the right place at the right time when you see one?

Kingfishers do have their own territories where they tend to stay so you may well be able to get the photo you want.

Congratulations on seeing one, they are beautiful birds. As wildliferescuer you should have a good chance of seeing it again if you visit the same place regularly. Good luck with getting the photo, make sure you post it here if you do get one

And if you do manage to get a photo, I will politely ask if I can co-opt it so that I could use your photo as an avatar .

I need a kingfisher avatar.

Kingfisher

I would love to see a Kingfisher at the pub! It is a shame you didn't have your camera with you, but I suppose you don't make a habit of taking a camera to the pub! How common are kingfishers in the UK, are their number in decline?

I'll definitely try and spot one in the same place again. Are there certain times of year that are best for seeing kingfishers?

Lucky you!!! I have only seen a flash of blue & would love to see one fishing.

Quite often all you see is the flash of blue, it is quite striking when you see it. How has the kingfisher spotting gone bex?

And if you do manage to get a photo, I will politely ask if I can co-opt it so that I could use your photo as an avatar .

I need a kingfisher avatar.

Kingfisher

Here's a kingfisher photo for you Kingfisher. It's not the best quality, as it's a grab from a digiscoped video I did of the bird at WWT Martin Mere, but you're welcome to use it as your avatar.

A bit off topic, as it's the Belted Kingfisher (found in the United States), but this is the best photo I've got of my (American) namesake:



It's possible to tell that this is a female, due to the chestnut coloured band, which shows as a pinkish tinge in the photo. I'll be working on getting a better photo .

Kingfisher

They are indeed beautiful birds Bex i feel privileged every time i have seen one too

The wildlife highlight of my recent trip to Rhodes was my first ever sighting of a Kingfisher. I was walking around the harbour when I caught a flash of blue out of the corner of my eye. Turning to follow it I saw it perched on a mooring rope about 15 ft away. It must have been used to the harbour because it didn't seem at all bothered with the activity and sat there for a good 3 to 4 minutes. It was only when a group of people got too close that it took off.

i got my first sighting of a kingfisher a couple of months back but only managed to catch the flash of blue as it flitted on up the river. they're amazing little birds id love to see one up close!

Speaking of Kingfishers and Pubs, may i suggest a cup of coffee in the garden of The Old Quayhouse at Lelant, Cornwall. It overlooks the Hayle Estuary and Kingfishers can regularly be seen flying past.

Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a few hours recuperating from sightseeing, eh?

Thanks for the tip, and welcome to Wildlife UK, Paul !

By the way, I've just spent a number of enjoyable minutes checking out your website. When I eventually manage to get to Cornwall (I'm in the US, so it's some time in the future) I will be using your site to make certain I catch all the birds of interest.

Kingfisher