It had been ten days since I'd last visited the Kingfishers, so I decided to return. This time, unlike on my previous two visits which were in 'cloudy-bright' weather conditions, the weather was 'sunny spells'.
I stopped at the first location just as a female Kingfisher was leaving a relatively near post. I sat and watched for a while but she stayed at the far end of the pond, only landing when out of sight. She soon flew off to the nearby brook.
As I made my way to the second location there were a few Common Darter dragonflies around.
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| Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Leicestershire |
I arrived at the hide to find two people who had spent all morning there and only got a fleeting glimpse of a Kingfisher - it was looking as if I might not be lucky.
Because of the relatively warm sunny weather there were a few dragonflies visible from the hide. This one perched conveniently close.
Because of the relatively warm sunny weather there were a few dragonflies visible from the hide. This one perched conveniently close.
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| Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Leicestershire |
In the event, I only had to wait just over half an hour before a male Kingfisher arrived and obliged by landing quite close to the hide - although the sun had gone behind a cloud.
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| Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) (male) - Leicestershire |
On my first visit, a gentleman who voluntarily looks after the site had commented that he'd like to find an alternative stick to one of the ones that were in place for the Kingfishers to perch on as it was a bit smooth and shiny. On my subsequent visit, I'd taken with me what I hoped would be a suitable stick, and left it for him to do with as he wished. I was, therefore, delighted to see that 'my stick' was now in place and being used to advantage. Here's one of the Kingfisher on 'my stick'.
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| Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) (male) - Leicestershire |
From its texture, you might recognise 'my stick' in some of the subsequent images.
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| Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) (male) - Leicestershire |
The bird spent a full 15 minutes here before departing to the brook. I waited for another hour, but it didn't return in that time. However, I did take a few other shots. Here's one of a Migrant Hawker dragonfly which landed on 'my stick'.
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| Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (male) - Leicestershire |
A Wren briefly landed on one of the other 'kingfisher sticks'.
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| Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - Leicestershire |
Mute Swans might be everywhere, but there's no denying that they are among the most graceful of birds. I couldn't resist the photographic conditions at one point.
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| Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) - Leicestershire |
The weather started to change dramatically and so I set off towards my car. I had to take refuge for half an hour in another hide when there was a sudden torrential rain shower. I then made my way home.
It had been another enchanting interlude with the Kingfisher. I have another post up my sleeve on the subject of Kingfisher and that one will be a little different.
Thank you for dropping by. My next post will probably feature dragonflies, and maybe another bird.
