We have had over a dozen sightings of our resident kingfishers over the past couple of weeks. These dumpy bodied, long beaked birds are unmistakeable due to their electric blue markings on the side of their body. Often you will only see the blue flash as they fly by but they will sit on their favourite perches, often branches hanging over the water in order to catch freshwater fish. Whilst in the water they have binocular like vision which enables them to judge the distance of their unsuspecting prey allowing them to be very adept at catching their prey. They need to catch 60% of their body weight each day to survive which is no mean feat. Kingfishers are very territorial and it is unusual to see more than one at once so we have been extremely lucky to see two on a few occasions recently.

Laura – Falls of Clyde Ranger