21st December 2021
Some birds are just special. They have a wow factor. They're not necessarily rare, but always make you look and are always a pleasure to watch. On a local level it might be common kingfisher, firecrest, hawfinch or maybe lesser spotted woodpecker. Most owls and shrikes, waxwing, hoopoe and bee-eaters all have similar effects. Despite having seen lots, you keep looking at them. Perhaps these are the birds that strip back birding to the simple joy of beauty in birds.
That mantra definitely applies, for me at least, to Belted Kingfisher. I've seen loads abroad, and two this side of the Atlantic, yet when one was found last month just up the road on the River Ribble in Lancashire the urge to see it was irresistible. It was irrelevant that I've seen hundreds abroad in the North America.
It's still an extremely rare bird in Europe, with just four UK records and five in Ireland. It was one of the birds that inspired my twitching passion as a youngster - I remember being enthralled by Richard Millington's 'Twitcher Diary' book which was an account of his 1980 year list. A Belted Kingfisher wintered in Cornwall in 1979/1980 (in fact staying until August) and featured in the book - that bird more than any struck a chord (although the 'hyper-zonky mega-crippler' Red-eyed Vireo wasn't far behind).
There was a long gap in UK records from 1980. A series of early 80's Irish records (one of which was shot) were all well before my time, and I didn't travel to Ireland in those days. The first 'twitchable' bird of recent times was in 2005, in the unlikely county of Staffordshire and on the even less likely date of 1st April. Naturally the initial report was met with cynicism, which birders posses in abundance. It wasn't helpful that the bird went missing for hours after the initial sighting. Luckily for me it was only an hour from home and worth the punt, so I was already on site when it was relocated at nearby Shugburgh Hall. It showed quite well to a rapidly increasing crowd for just a couple of hours that Friday evening, only to vanish overnight for many more to dip. Incredibly it was relocated in Aberdeenshire just four days later - by the son of the bloke who had found it in Staffs. It then stayed on the River Dee at Peterculter for five days allowing more people to connect.
Scroll forward seven years to 6th October 2012 and there had been no more records on either side of the Irish Sea. Europe's first Eastern Kingbird had been found on the island of Inshmore in Co Galway, sparking a large twitch from the UK and I headed over with Gregsy, the late Pod and Mark Sutton. Sadly everyone dipped the kingbird (and I still need it, despite there having been two more since); however a Belted Kingfisher was found just down the road at Lough Fee that day. The views of this bird were stunning - a beautiful day in a gorgeous location with barely anyone else there (most were stuck on Inshmore and failed to get to the kingfisher before it was seen to leave). Definitely adequate compensation for the dip, and remarkably a tick for Mark Sutton (who lives in Staffs but was away for the Shugburgh bird).
So I'd managed two Belted Kingfishers. Fortuitously neither had taken much effort, which for a bird of such rarity and gravitas is remarkable in itself. I've often travelled much further for less spectacular birds.
The next one was a brief bird on Scilly in spring 2018, which was untwitchable (although some tried and dipped), before a male wintered in County Cork over 2020/2021. The latter stayed for months, but Covid lockdown limited it's appeal. Certainly some diehards went, but the masses don't twitch Ireland and so it was a long sixteen years gap after the Staffordshire bird. A new bird was undoubtedly going to be popular.
This 2021 Lancashire bird was found by a fisherman in mid November, on the River Ribble near Brockholes, where he managed to photograph it with his mobile. It's a good job he did, otherwise I suspect there would have been another bout of birder cynicism. It's a male and so could potentially be the same bird as spent the previous winter in Cork. Plenty went to search up and down the river, but it was two weeks before it reappeared. I delayed heading up there for a couple of hours only to dip, then dip again the following week (a brief Otter was nice though). Viewing on the Ribble was difficult and very restricted. Access was comically treacherous. Some scored, but most dipped. Some had to be rescued by emergency services. It went missing again, only to reappear briefly a week later, a few miles south on the River Darwen near Roach Bridge, before going missing yet again. Then it was photographed even further south on the Leeds Liverpool canal at Withnell Fold, where I managed to dip for a third time. It was becoming personal, probably as it was just down the road (I wouldn't have made multiple attempts if it was in Cornwall).
In the late afternoon of 20th December news came through that it was back again on the River Darwen on in the same spot near Roach Bridge, and importantly was showing until dusk. Surely it would roost there? Maps showed a private stretch of river with no clear access, but someone was managing to see it. Time for a covert mission. With the help of Whatsapp, a few of us soon had a stealth plan.
Our small group met at Roach Bridge in the dark at 7.10am. We walked the short stretch of footpath, ducked under one and over another barbed wire fence, and made our way down to the river a little east of where the bird had been reported. It was a cool morning as we waited for the first glimmers of light under a cloudy sky. We were in position by 07.25, but sunrise was not until 08.23. It seemed a long time to stand in the dark, but it was rather nice to be out in the half light at this beautiful location. A woodcock flew over. Then a moorhen called, followed by a few Blackbirds and Redwings. Birds were starting to wake, but it was still far from light when there was a loud rattling call behind us. That was it! Someone said Mistle Thrush, but surely not? At that moment a large bird shot past us along the river just a few feet away. What was that?? It definitely wasn't a common kingfisher (despite the shout). It was surely the bird. Then more loud rattles and there it was, right in front of us! Instant success! The male BELTED KINGFISHER then gave itself up gloriously for the next two hours, mostly perched high as it scanned the river, charismatically bobbing it's head and cocking it's tail. It called frequently. Once again an absolute pleasure of a species to watch, especially so from our privileged position on the riverside.
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| Last image by Martin Roper |
My third 'BK' in the UK/Ireland, and none involved a long journey to see. I'd never have thought that could happen as I read Mr Millington's 'Twitcher's Diary' as a tick hungry teenager in the eighties.
I dragged myself away and back to the office - today was also Una's last day at Avian Ecology. So a bittersweet day for sure.
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