Today a friend and I took the bus then subway into the heart of Glasgow’s West End where we had a walk along the river Kelvin hoping to spot a kingfisher. We got very lucky thanks to looking at where a photographer was pointing his big lens. I didn’t have my big lens but it turned out my medium lens was good enough. This lens gives a good idea of what the eye actually sees. Here is the first glimpse of the kingfisher on the opposite bank from us. He’s really rather small, just a bright blue and orange blob.
But then he crossed over the river and sat in a branch near our path.
He flew off down towards a bridge and we decided to try and spot him again, following behind the man with the bigger lens. This man told us that he came here regularly and he believed the kingfisher knew him and wasn’t bothered by people or the many dogs here.
We went up onto a footbridge and it wasn’t long before the man spotted the kingfisher again. This time we could get quite close to him. Then another photographer with a camouflaged big lens turned up. Both men told us they’d named the kingfisher Kevin and he even had his own page on X (formerly twitter).
This was Kevin’s territory and we were told that in a few weeks time he’d be joined by a female – Chloe from Claypits!!
We watched him sit on this branch for ages as he preened. Well, he’s got to look his best for the breeding season.
Guess where I’m going in a few week’s time?
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 