Granddad’s Camera
Kingfisher, as it appears in the game

No.011 · Birds · Rare

Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

A living jewel: electric-blue back, orange breast, and a dagger bill. Usually you see only a blue streak whizzing low over the water.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn, day and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Bright mornings; easiest from August to February when birds are not tucked in burrows.
Where in the game
Millbrook (canal, pond and park), the Norfolk Broads (river, broad, fen and carr) and the New Forest (stream)
Size
Length 15–17 cm
Wingspan
About 25 cm
Weight
About 39 g (BTO adult average)
Lifespan
Average about 2 years; the oldest ringed bird lived over 4 years (Wildlife Trusts, BTO)
Population
About 3,850 pairs in the UK (BTO, 2016)
Status
Green (Birds of Conservation Concern 5, 2021)

Diet

Small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks, plus water insects; dives from a perch.

Habitat

Slow, clear rivers, canals and lakes with overhanging branches and earth banks.

Breeding

Digs a tunnel of a metre or more into a river bank in March–April; usually 5–7 white eggs; 1–2 broods, occasionally 3.

Field signs

  • High, shrill 'chee' call as it flies past
  • Fish bones and pellets in the nest tunnel; white splashes under a favourite perch
  • Blue flash low over the water

Did you know?

  • Harsh winters can kill many kingfishers because they cannot fish under ice.
  • A kingfisher hunts by plunge-diving from a perch, catching fish in its dagger bill and taking them back to bash on a branch.
  • Its blue is structural colour: the feathers contain no blue pigment; light scattering makes them blue.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Plunge dive August to March, day and dawn
    The kingfisher drops from its perch, vanishes with a small splash and surfaces with a silver minnow.
  • Bashing the fish August to March, day
    It returns to its perch and thrashes the fish against the branch before swallowing it head-first.

Photo tip

Find a favourite perch and set up a hide or sit still 10 m away with a long lens. Prefocus on the perch and wait; fast shutter (1/2500 s) for the dive.

Be a good naturalist

Never approach a nest tunnel; disturbance is a Schedule 1 offence. Do not use playback or place fish to lure it: a bird can drown or abandon young.

The law

Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: disturbing a kingfisher at its nest is an offence.

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