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SPECIES FOCUS
Kingfisher. – Michael Finn
Olivia Crowe reports
It comes as a surprise to many when they clap eyes
on their first Kingfisher that these birds are not
quite the size of a Rook. In fact, they’re not much
bigger than a Robin.
The Kingfisher, or Cruidín in Irish, is unmistakable,
with its dazzling plumage. It has varying shades of
turquoise blue on the head, back and wings, and an
underside, including its legs, that is entirely orange. Its
short tail and bulky head give it quite a stumpy
appearance.
Despite their superb coloration, Kingfishers are
quite elusive. That brilliant strip of turquoise running
down their back is often as much as the average
observer gets to see. They usually give a high-pitched
call when taking flight, but this can often go
unnoticed. That is one reason why we know so little
about how many Kingfishers there are in Ireland and
what their exact distribution is. They are also
extremely territorial – they don’t even tolerate their
young hanging around just a few days after fledging –
and for that reason you will rarely come across more
than one or two birds at any one time.
internet that is well worth checking out (see, for
example, http://www.arkive.org/kingfisher/alcedoatthis/video-08a.html).
In his book The Kingfisher (1982), David Boag
provides an excellent account of Kingfisher lifehistory. Kingfishers nest in river banks, but do have
some special requirements. The banks need to be
reasonably steep and high so that the Kingfishers
don’t encounter problems of predation or nest
flooding. The banks used are usually composed of
some soft clay material into which they can easily
burrow. Both male and female do the burrowing
work, although the male is usually the motivated
one. He starts off by flying at the bank two or three
times, but if she isn’t showing any interest, then he
backs down. Temporarily, of course. She joins in and
the two fly at the bank one after the other, taking
turns to peck out the soil. Eventually, the pair
establish their ideal ‘pad’ – a tunnel roughly 50
centimetres or more long, culminating in a nesting
chamber.
Up to eight eggs are laid, so the chamber gets
Sean Pierce and Ruth Gaj McKeever
survey the River Boyne at Stackallen, Co
Meath, as part of the Kingfisher study.
– Laura MacNaughten
Life history
Kingfishers are entirely dependent on waterways.
They feed on small freshwater fish, predominantly
minnows and sticklebacks, but also aquatic insects,
freshwater shrimps and tadpoles. Suitable branches
for perching are a necessity. In classic ambush style,
Kingfishers sit and wait until that unsuspecting fish
comes along. There is plenty of great footage on the
WI N G S AU T U M N 2 0 1 0
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Map showing Kingfisher sites
recorded by the survey since
2006, including records
submitted by the public.
– Olivia Crowe
Kingfisher
– Michael Finn
pretty busy once chicks start hatching. Unlike many
other bird species, where the oldest, biggest, fattest
chicks get all the food, feeding time in the Kingfisher
chamber is much more civilised, and the food is
spread fairly evenly among the chicks. Consequently,
all that hatch are expected to fledge, usually three to
four weeks later. But this is more or less where
parental care and attention ends. Kingfisher
fledglings are allowed to remain for just a few days
before they are booted out of the territory to fend
for themselves. It’s hardly surprising that quite a
small proportion survives to see out their first year.
River protection
Rivers are of fundamental importance to
biodiversity, including several species which are of
conservation concern throughout Europe, most
notably Freshwater Pearl Mussel, White-clawed
Crayfish and Otter. Accordingly, several rivers have
been designated as Special Areas of Conservation
under the European Habitats Directive. Kingfisher is
also a species of European conservation concern and
is listed in Annex I of the European Birds Directive.
The list includes all bird species considered to be in
danger of extinction, rare, vulnerable to specific
changes in their habitat or requiring particular
attention by reason of the specific nature of their
habitat. Kingfisher is also amber-listed in Ireland’s
Birds of Conservation Concern.
The importance of riparian habitats, which are so
widely available in Ireland, to Kingfisher, and a
variety of other species – Dipper, Common
Sandpiper and Sand Martin, to name but a few – is
unquestionable. Yet, to date, no rivers have been
designated specifically for this group of birds.
A comparison between the two breeding atlas
surveys carried out in Britain and Ireland during the
late 1960s and the late 1980s indicates that there was
a 40% decline in the number of 10km squares
occupied by Kingfishers in Ireland over the 20-year
period. This evidence featured in the European
Court of Justice ruling in December 2007 against
Ireland for failing to adequately protect our birds and
habitats.
The main reason for this lack of protection is that
we know very little about the distribution of Ireland’s
riparian birds. Until relatively recently, our waterways
(rivers, streams and canals) were not so well
represented in any of our bird monitoring schemes.
Some species are picked up as part of our breeding
Countryside Bird Survey (CBS) and wintering
waterbird survey (I-WeBS), although records are few.
So we have little to draw on when asked about
Kingfisher distribution and abundance in Ireland,
and judging by the limited availability of published
Kingfisher material elsewhere in Europe, we are
clearly not alone.
Monitoring begins
Mink scratches at
Kingfisher nest hole.
– Declan O’Donnell
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In 2006, a collaborative waterways bird project by
BirdWatch Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife
Service (NPWS) and the Office of Public Works
(OPW) was initiated, and has continued to date. This
work focused on investigating the most appropriate
methodology for surveying waterways birds, and on
gathering information on the distribution and
abundance of breeding Kingfisher and other riparian
bird communities. It also aimed to examine possible
impacts of OPW’s arterial drainage maintenance
works. These are ongoing works to maintain the
original Arterial Drainage Schemes which involved
the widening and deepening of waterways to
improve land drainage and reduce flooding.
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How you can help
Kingfisher
– Michael Finn
The current Bird Atlas
(2007-2011) would benefit
from your input. Information
on bird distribution is vital
for conservation as no
species can be protected
efficiently without data to
base objectives on. Please
report any sightings of
Kingfisher or other waterways birds to:
www.birdatlas.net
Survey results
You may remember an article published in Wings
(No 45, Summer 2007) where we called on the
public to provide information on the locations of any
sightings of Kingfishers since 1998. We also
contacted a number of angling, kayaking and other
sporting groups associated with waterways, the
Central Fisheries Board, staff of the OPW arterial
drainage programmes, and conservation staff of
NPWS. More than 2,000 records from 1,000 locations
around Ireland were received from 426 participants.
The survey clearly showed that Kingfisher remains
widespread in Ireland, predominantly on the lowlying rivers, and not just along waterways but also
around lakes, docks and canals. Some 50% of 10km
squares which reported positive sightings since 1998
were new when compared with the last atlas (based
on the 1988-1991 period). The results also indicate
that the public are doing a great job at monitoring
the Kingfisher!
In 2008 and 2010, we concentrated our efforts on
certain rivers and their associated tributaries, based
on the knowledge that they continue to support
Kingfishers. The rivers selected are large low-lying
river complexes and are geographically spread. They
include the River Boyne (Co Meath), Rivers Barrow &
Nore (southeast), River Blackwater (Co Cork), River
Clare (Co Galway) and the River Moy (Co Mayo). We
also received additional records from survey work
carried out on the Ilen River in Co Cork and the
Bonet River in Co Leitrim. We surveyed the rivers on
foot by walking along the banks or by boat using a
variety of boat types, including rubber inflatable,
double kayak and Canadian canoe. We were able to
map out the distributions and estimate the number
of territories on each river. Taking each of the river
complexes as a whole, the density of territories
ranged between one every 20km on the Blackwater
to one every 8km on the Boyne and Nore. This is
somewhat more spread out than has been reported
in the UK (one every 3-5km). However, on all river
complexes, territories as close as this were estimated,
i.e. all complexes had some stretches where property
was particularly competitive.
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Kingfisher
This work has provided us with an update on
Kingfisher distribution, and has given us a great
insight into their habitat requirements.
Threats
By comparing the results from 2008 and 2010, we
have seen that some of the rivers where Kingfishers
were present in 2008, and where territories were
estimated, were completely devoid of birds in 2010.
Alternatively, other stretches seemed to support
higher densities. Reasons for these differences are
possibly due to some of the many threats facing
Kingfisher populations.
It is known that most do not survive from one
year to the next. Kingfishers are high in the food
chain, and are especially vulnerable to build-up of
chemicals. Industrial pollution and contamination by
agricultural run-off kills the fish these birds rely on.
Long-term population declines since the early 1970s
in the UK have been largely attributed to river
pollution.
Summer floods can make fishing difficult,
resulting in starvation of the brood, and can claim
nests. Human disturbance can pose serious
problems, since the broods are known to fail if
something upsets the feeding routine. If human
presence close to a nest prevents these shy birds
from entering the nest for too long, the chicks may
weaken from cold or hunger and stop calling. This
wrongly indicates to the parents that they are well
fed, and they will not feed them. As a result, the
chicks may perish.
Other threats include those caused by works
taking place in the river corridor such as the heavy
machinery associated with drainage maintenance
activities, although to date, it seems that most of this
work in Ireland is localised, and takes place in
smaller channels which do not support Kingfisher
habitats.
Kingfishers are also especially vulnerable to cold
winters. It is encouraging to see that the densities
witnessed in 2008 did not seem to decline by
summer 2010, despite the two cold winter periods in
between.
Alcedo atthis
The Kingfisher is widespread
throughout most of Europe. The
European population has been
estimated at less than 160,000 pairs,
with numbers in Ireland somewhere
between 1,000 and 2,500 pairs.
Distribution: Low-lying rivers
during the breeding season. Seen
regularly at coastal sites outside the
breeding season.
Breeding habitat: Nests in steep
banks composed of soft material into
which they can easily burrow. Lays up
to eight eggs. Capable of nesting
twice.
Lifespan: Short-lived; most don’t
make it past the first year. Oldest
bird on record 7.5 years.
Diet: Fish, largely minnows and
sticklebacks, also aquatic insects,
freshwater shrimps and tadpoles.
Main threats: Severe cold winters,
pollution, predation
(e.g. cats, rats, mink, otter).
This project was funded by the National
Parks and Wildlife Service and the Office of
Public Works. Enormous thanks to all of the
dedicated field staff who have been associated
with this work, and to all who have submitted
their observations of Kingfishers.
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