Disheartening weekend

[maninsuitcase]

One species on my "to see" list, and preferably photography, like many is the kingfisher. I have been compiling a list of possible local sites for a while and yesterday was the first chance I've had to go out and check one. I wish I hadn't bothered.

The site was a high quality hide build in late 2010 and blog posts about the site report a large array of birds, kingfisher included, to be seen along this lush section of the river.

I spent over an hour watching a stagnant river spur and saw a grand total of a robin, a chifchaf and the odd wood pigeon. The water is clearly not going to be home to a kingfisher any more.

I suspect the recent flooding in Surrey has a lot to do with the state of the water, but it leaves me wondering if the floods have simply wiped out the habitat* and the kingfisher are now long gone. With this in mind I worry that all checking out the other few sites will lead to further frustration and put me off even further.

*flooding was extensive. The river burst it's banks and filled fields to about foot or so deep. Whilst not as bad as Somerset we were one of the areas on the news.

ps. Why do hides provide seating that's at least 6" too low to get a good view out of the windows? This isn't the 1st time I've seen this.

 

[Werecow]

I'm afraid you're going to need to recalibrate your expectations of how long it's actually going to take to see or take pictures of some sorts of animals.
It takes hours and hours and hours of sitting in hides sometimes waiting for a kingfisher to appear even on a confirmed actively-in-use perch.
I've personally spent 6 hour plus periods concentrated on a piece of wood sticking out of a river bank with no luck, and other similar periods where the bird finally turned up. It's a very rare and lucky occasion that the bird turns up soon after you arriving.

Yes sometimes an area might have been vacated by a species you're looking for, but even when they are present it takes a lot of time and patience as a rule.
It can be deflating having a day where you don't even see anything, but it's the people that keep at it that get the photos and have the memorable experiences with wild animals.

 

[maninsuitcase]

Its not the time that disheartened me, I've spent hours following some roe before, more the change from nice clean habitat (in 2011 granted) to a stagnant pool. The lack of life I am starting to think was down to the floods, this stretch was up to 2m above normal in Jan. Even the local foxes seem to be far less a common sight.

So it's not so much that I think the kingfisher has moved on as much as the floods has torn down the river and changed it forever.

 

[Werecow]

Yeh that can be upsetting. Kingfishers can be quite fickle with where they like to sit though and have favourite perches that can change even in their own claimed stretch of river. Sooner or later one will claim the stretch of water, even if it's not prime fishing territory.
Rivers have a tendency of recovering by themselves eventually but it might get a helping hand if a nature organisation owns the area the hide is in?

Is the water actually stagnant or just still? Kingfishers prefer water they can see through to fish in, so still, shallowish water is good usually.

Something you could consider is getting your own portable hide. It's usually a better way of getting photos, with no interruptions etc.

 

[maninsuitcase]

The water didn't appear to move at all for the time I was there. I'd describe it as stagnant but it may move a bit with some rain I suppose. There's a fair bit of junk in the water now, broken wood and leaf litter, which isn't helping. I'll try find an email for the site to query about at least getting some of the branches pulled out to help flow.

Looking at older images it looked to be slow moving and ideal.

Once time allows I'm going to try a different section that hopefully will be in better condition.

 

[maninsuitcase]

Bit of an update. Walked along a different stretch of the same river yesterday and other than some bits stuck in branches 1m above the water there no obvious damage. Maybe a bit wider in places but that's it.

I also think I spotted a Kingfisher nest hole. Only 6" above the water line so probably an old one but at least shows they uses to be here so if they aren't now they may be one day.

Got soaked during the walk but left me feeling much happier about the whole thing. Also saw my first ever Green Woodpecker which was a nice bonus.