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Kingfishers (5 Viewers)

A quick stop at the River Rea, Wychall Lane, mid day, not a Kingfisher but a Buzzard on the ground in the Wychall res trees/bushes direction. It was then in a tree.
There were some Sparrows feeding in a bush up the River Rea towards Northfield and I could see a Male Bullfinch among them.
I was about to give up when what flew towards me in the distance, yes a Kingfisher!
I took a closer look and saw it fly up the river towards Northfield.
Great!
(The Jays are regular most mornings when I look in my back garden now, looking for food)
 
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Seeing a King most days on Mill Shrub now and was looking how the draining was going on upper Bittell and a King flew from left to right over the mostly mud and lost it as it neared the trees.....always thought they nest in the sandy bank but wondered why it would be up here today.......

Went to Upton Warren in the afternoon and a Male King was keeping his distance but just good to see him.

1...Long range at Mill Shrub
2...Close up at Mill Shrub
3...Close up at Mill Shrub

4 Long range at Upton
5...close up.
 

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keithr said:
Seeing a King most days on Mill Shrub now and was looking how the draining was going on upper Bittell and a King flew from left to right over the mostly mud and lost it as it neared the trees.....always thought they nest in the sandy bank but wondered why it would be up here today.......
Went to Upton Warren in the afternoon and a Male King was keeping his distance but just good to see him.
Click to expand...
Good to see the photos Keith.

I thought I would be out of luck today. The overnight rain meant both the Rea and Bourn Brook were fast flowing. The Rea was really muddy.
However the Bourn Brook flow slowed down and there were some clear areas for a KF.
Sure enough I stood by one and heard the repeated call of a Kingfisher but did not see it go past. I think it went up and around to miss me.
When I found it later it was by the bridge down from the Dental Hospital.
I have only seen a Kingfisher here a few times.
It had it's back to me so it did not fly off. I didn't have my camera which was a pity.
(Yesterday visiting some more friends I found two Kingfisher along the River Chess, never been that lucky on that river so to find two was great! It's really nice clear water, a chalk stream, rises just north of Chesham in the Chiltern Hills. Around the M25 I counted 9 Kestrels sat on lamp posts which is the most I have ever seen!)
Great!
 
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The Kingfisher today was again on the Bourn Brook by the Dental Hospital down in the man made valley next to the hockey pitch car park. There was a Heron as well.
There are reports on BTO of a Kingfisher on the canal nearby and at Edgbaston pool.
At the Bourn Brook next to the reeds, they've cleared some of the trees so the reeds are more visable. A guy on twitter, a couple weeks back got a photo of the Kingfisher on the reeds.
Great!
 
zomerset said:
Great Keith! The same spot I saw it last Monday. Seems to like upstream!
Click to expand...

Hi Keith, the Kingfisher seems to like this stretch! It was further up than I thought. I almost gave up lol! But there it was on the River Rea just up from Wychall Lane. It was eclipsed a bit by a Little Egret! That was a surprise. That's my fourth on the River Rea!
It was a surprising afternoon.
First a Kingfisher on Bittell Reservoir, then the Kingfisher and Little Egret on the River Rea then to top that a Kingfisher fishing on Trittiford Mill Pond, never seen that before and then a Great White Egret on the River Cole, Scribers Lane. What an afternoon! Great!
 
Rob_S said:
Fly-through Kingfisher along the River Rea by Lifford Lane tip around 10.30am this morning, heading south.
Click to expand...
That's good to hear Rob. That's a possible three along the River Rea.
I saw one on the River Rea this afternoon at Selly Park.
Better was a very vocal female Kingfisher first on the Chad Brook by the Dental Hospital then it was on the Bourn Brook flying up and down calling.
In the end it was perched over the brook behind the Uni halls by Bristol Road.
I looked over the bridge wall, there it was & got a bad photo.
Great!
 
I had a Heron land on my garden lawn this morning. It was 5 metres from the window. It looked huge! My garden is not that big. It casually walked around the garden to my pond. Then sensed us looking & flew off. Great!
 
Trevor Jones reported a Goosander on the Bournville Valley parkway boating lake this morning.
There was the usual Kingfisher on the Bourn Brook at the Dental Hospital flying up and down calling. Then at the Bourn Brook by the big pipes there was another Kingfisher. I got a pretty bad photo lol! Great!
https://flic.kr/p/GuWqvM
 
I had news via Twitter a Kingfisher on the Bournville Woodbrook last week,
(also over the weekend I saw a Kestrel flying towards Manor Farm Park)
Great!
 
Four Kingfisher today;
The first one was on the upper Bourn Brook walkway by the grey bridge. Not seen one there for a few weeks.
At first I heard a few calls that almost sounded like a Kingfisher and then took a closer look and there was a Kingfisher. Maybe it's a juvenile that's just got it's call.
Then I saw one on the River Rea at the Dogpool lane bridge in the distance fishing. I could just see it dive into the river. Then it flew under the bridge to head downstream. I ran back to look for it and then found not one but two Kingfisher only a couple hundred metres apart. Two herons as well.
Then I thought I'd have a look at the Dental Hospital, Bourn Brook but the water was brown from the rain so didn't expect a Kingfisher. But after a few minutes one flew past calling.
Great!
 
Bumper weekend for Kingfisher;
Bittell Reservoir
River Rea, Wychall
River Cole, Trittiford
Bourn Brook, Selly Oak
2 River Rea, Selly Park
Bourn Brook, Dental Hospital
The real surprise two;
The Bourn, Bournville
Manor Farm Park
Then the usual one was not present on the River Tame, Spaghetti Junction
So I walked along Aston Reservoir and there was on in the distance on the Tame.
Great!
 
It was great on my run this morning to see the Kingfisher on the Bourn at Bournville as I've never seen one there before and it gave a call as it flashed it's colours.
Then great to see one again in Manor Farm Park in the same location as where I got a photo before.
Then I got home and there were two Jays feeding in the trees in the back gardens. They were being hassled by Magpies and Crows but then out flew a Sparrowhawk and past my house. Very surprising. Had a Kestrel last weekend. Earlier a garden Robin had been chasing a dunnock a couple times. And then it went quiet again.
 
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Bourn brook by the big pipes down from QE. Calling Kingfisher flying towards where I was standing on the bridge saw me and did a high sweeping U turn back upsteam under pipes. Also Grey Wag. Loads of rubbish dumped in bushes after Gypsies finally left.
 
discors said:
Bourn brook by the big pipes down from QE. Calling Kingfisher flying towards where I was standing on the bridge saw me and did a high sweeping U turn back upsteam under pipes. Also Grey Wag. Loads of rubbish dumped in bushes after Gypsies finally left.
Click to expand...

Great to hear you saw it Trevor! Yeah pity about the rubbish dumped everywhere. Will you report it? I will.
My two Kingfisher today were the River Rea, Wychall Lane and Trittiford Mill pond. Great!
 

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