Until a short while ago I could have, with reasonable confidence, told you of 3 places on the Kennet and Avon canal where I could hope to see a kingfisher. I don’t visit hides for my photography - all my shots are taken as I’m passing through an area, or maybe staying in the same place for a couple of nights at a push - properly itinerant photography.
So, my 3 places were where I had passed a couple of times on the narrowboat and each time there was a kingfisher - sometimes I could get a shot, sometimes (most times) it would shoot off in a dazzle of emerald and gold which I don’t mind too much - I’m lucky to see it anyway.
Last year, I was witness to a most extraordinary ‘battle of the kingfishers’; it seems that one bird flew into another’s territory, causing an incredible, fast-paced fight that saw them dragging each other down, pushing each other underwater and generally beating the **** out of each other before flying off in opposite directions along the canal. It was so unexpected that I had to ask my husband (manning the tiller at the time) if what I’d seen only metres in front of me really had happened. It had, and I have a few photos that document it.
Last year also, approaching a busy area with a marina and narrowboat rental company, I was amazed to see a kingfisher fly as leisurely as a kingfisher can from boat to mooring line, settling down and turning its back on me as we passed…very unusual behaviour from this most shy and skittish of birds.
So this year, armed with all the aforementioned experience, I was ready in some specific places on the canal - long lens on, dog cushion in the cratch to support its weight, camera settings checked, double-checked and checked again…and not one kingfisher showed me even a glimmer of a back feather. I found this lack of even a sighting really frustrating, because I’d expected to see them, whereas last year every time I saw one was a novel and unexpected delight.
Deep in the heart of the Pewsey Vale I left the boat for a couple of days and got back to be regaled by my husband with stories about the local kingfisher - which did helpfully swoop low along the river that evening and then remained resolutely hidden from view the next day.
I’m writing this post now because, such is the law of the sod, I sat down in the cratch to update my website (therefore no camera nearby) and one of the little darlings flew right in front of me, then straight across the river Thames, blatantly taunting me (I’m not taking this too personally, am I?).
Kingfishers - I love them and they’re driving me crazy! Hopefully soon I’ll be able to post a shot from 2020, but for now, here are some from last year. Oh yes, I did update the website - there are new photos in the ‘Wildlife’ and ‘Kennet and Avon canal’ sections.
Thanks as always for looking, I hope the kingfishers give you as much pleasure as they do me.
If you’re passing through Great Bedwyn any time, do call in on The Three Tuns pub (www.tunsfreehouse.com) - it’s a fabulous local with a good selection of drinks, incredibly helpful landlord (sometimes being itinerant means a pub is the best address you can get!) and a large beer garden.
Also, www.phoenixwoodfirepizza.co.uk deserves a shout for just about the best pizza outside of Italy - and that is not said lightly. They roam around the Wiltshire villages near Great Bedwyn and it’s worth timing a trip on a narrowboat to coincide with their timetable.
Hoping you’re all well and all still staying safe,
Phil xx