Published: 21st July 2018 at 12:19 pm. Posted in .
Kingfisher portrait, showing the stunning blue stripe that runs down their backs. This male has become very comfortable with my presence over the weeks and continues to fish happily while I’m just a few metres away.
KINGFISHER
Kingfishers are important members of our ecosystem and excellent indicators of water quality. As they must eat around 60% of their body weight every day, it is essential for them to control a suitable stretch of a river, making them extremely territorial.
“Kingfishers are small unmistakable bright blue and orange birds of slow moving or still water. They fly rapidly, low over water, and hunt fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the water’s surface. They are vulnerable to hard winters and habitat degradation through pollution or unsympathetic management of watercourses. Kingfishers are amber listed because of their unfavourable conservation status in Europe. They are also listed as a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act offering them additional protection.”
Read more at https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/kingfisher#hMVPB7hoDIQMEwFp.99
