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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Kingfishers (5 Viewers)

20 plus days behind Keith's early KF, the Dutch ones have hatched;
http://www.natuurkanaal.nl/
On the Bourn Brook, the Kingfisher flew past and up and over me. It made a tutting noise rather than the usual call. The minnow numbers are still increasing in the brook. I can see why there were two Heron last weekend. Then there was a handful of screaming Swits overhead. Great!
 
HOPWOOD FIELDS. ...after about 45 mins watching a jet propelled King shot downstream past me....never seen one as fast....could only make out the shape really...still hoping and waiting for a slower one.
 
Kingfisher on the River Rea this morning and a Swift overhead. I had a pair of nesting Bullfinch checking out my garden yew tree. The Great Tits feeding their chicks. Great!
 
Kingfisher Sunday

A good day for Kingfisher, five in total;
Early morning the first one on the Bourn Brook.
I saw it fly past one bridge and ran down to see it fly to the next bridge.
On the River Rea it took sometime for the Kingfisher to appear, it flew down calling.
I could see the KF size fish in the Rea, several of them, not as many as in the Bourn.
Then on the River Cole, the Kingfisher was making the two tone call as well as tutting. There were KF size fish in the mill race.
Later the best Kingfisher of the day were two on the River Tame. They were flying up and down calling. I could see the now obvious nest holes.
Great!
 
zomerset said:
Wow Keith, great photo's!
How many years have you now seen young on that patch?
Is that the infamous hide? Lol! (Don't start ouzel68 Lol!)
I've not seen any other reports of fledglings yet.
Although I just been chasing after some KF in Essex, they were all over the place and making strange calls.
This one is still sitting on the eggs;
http://www.natuurkanaal.nl/
check the IJsvogelnest link.
What else can I say but great!
Click to expand...
Lol..i didn't say anything.
Been away. So quick stroll down brook. Cordoned off mostly. (Had to climb over the fencing) Nice to see the kingfisher. Reed-warblers in the marsh area. Reedbed area looking really good with lubins and yellow iris.
Nice capture of the kingfisher keith.
 
ouzel68 said:
Lol..i didn't say anything.
Been away. So quick stroll down brook. Cordoned off mostly. (Had to climb over the fencing) Nice to see the kingfisher. Reed-warblers in the marsh area. Reedbed area looking really good with lubins and yellow iris.
Nice capture of the kingfisher keith.
Click to expand...

Hi Ouzel68! You rebel climbing over the fencing! They will be after you! Lol! I was waiting for you to mention the Reed-warblers.
The Screaming Swift numbers overhead are increasing, more than ten this afternoon, high in the sky with gulls, Kingfisher along the brook. The number & size of the minnows is increasing week by week. Bullheads getting bigger & showing as well. Great!
 
Newbie question here: where in Bourn Brook (approximately) can I see the kingfishers? I walked the walkway a couple of times and I've never seen or heard one (though I'm not sure I could recognize its call).
 
mareacaspica said:
Newbie question here: where in Bourn Brook (approximately) can I see the kingfishers? I walked the walkway a couple of times and I've never seen or heard one (though I'm not sure I could recognize its call).
Click to expand...

Starting on the bridge over the bourn just off burnel rd follow the brook to new fosse way, pausing for at least 10 minutes or so at every bridge should get you a result. YouTube the kingfisher call and get yourself familiar with the call. Good luck.

Hi zomerset, did you see the fish by the blue bridge?
If so then, did you trespass? Tut,tut!!
 
ouzel68 said:
Starting on the bridge over the bourn just off burnel rd follow the brook to new fosse way, pausing for at least 10 minutes or so at every bridge should get you a result. YouTube the kingfisher call and get yourself familiar with the call. Good luck.
Hi zomerset, did you see the fish by the blue bridge?
If so then, did you trespass? Tut,tut!!
Click to expand...

No, I had to press my face hard up against the fencing by the blue bridge and I could just see the fish and then the Kingfisher went past calling. Lol! ;)
Great advice on the KF spotting! Definitely learn the call.
Today's Kingfisher was on the River Rea early this morning. I think it might have come out of the nest hole.
I cannot find a KF at Wychall this year but one is listed on BTO in KNNR. I did spot a good number of minnows in the Rea.
Meanwhile in my back garden the Bullfinch pair are still nesting. Great!
 
Thank you for the tips! Had a long walk yesterday, from central Birmingham to Sandwell and back so need a bit of recovering, but I'll be out there early next week.
 
A new Kingfisher location for me today. King's Norton Park. Pretty obvious really. As I'd seen one earlier this year at King's Norton Playing field and they are not nesting by Wychall, so they had to be somewhere along this stretch. I'd heard a Kingfisher, two or three years back, very vocal a few hundreds metres further along in the small woods maintained by FKNNR and thought it headed to King's Norton Park. The other good thing was I could see the stickleback in the River Rea as well. There was a Grey Wagtail also. Great!
 
Another cracking Kingfisher morning;
The regular on the Bourn Brook, it flew high over my head.
The regular Kingfisher was on the River Rea doing the two tone call and perched on it's favourite tree.
Then it was great to find one at Trittiford because I'd never seen one as far as Scribbers Lane. Great!
 
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Bourn Brook this afternoon, two Herons and then two Kingfisher, tutting, calling and chasing each other up and down for 30 minutes whilst I watched. Family of Grey Wagtail. Great!
 
zomerset said:
Bourn Brook this afternoon, two Herons and then two Kingfisher, tutting, calling and chasing each other up and down for 30 minutes whilst I watched. Family of Grey Wagtail. Great!
Click to expand...

Whats going on along the brook? Much of the path is blocked off with plenty of heavy equipment being used.

Des.
 
Calthorpe estates are renovating and deepening the old reservoir. Years ago it used to be a boating lake would be great to see open water instead of dried up bog.

The flood risk management project involves the deepening and widening of an area of existing flood water storage near the Bourn Brook Walkway on Harborne Lane, increasing the capacity of the storage ‘reservoir’ by almost double. Wildlife habitat and ecology improvements are also proposed.
 
discors said:
Calthorpe estates are renovating and deepening the old reservoir. Years ago it used to be a boating lake would be great to see open water instead of dried up bog.

The flood risk management project involves the deepening and widening of an area of existing flood water storage near the Bourn Brook Walkway on Harborne Lane, increasing the capacity of the storage ‘reservoir’ by almost double. Wildlife habitat and ecology improvements are also proposed.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
keithr said:
Where was the old boating lake please ?
Click to expand...
Hi Keith. I think you have walked pass the old boating lake. It is opposite that school off of Reservoir road. I shall find a link to some old photos. Hard to believe there was a lake there until the early 80s. I wonder if the Kingfisher used to fish there lol! Great!
 

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