I found the story in the Guardian about a nesting site custom-built for kingfishers very interesting. The farm on which I grew up had several ponds filled with bull rushes, frogs, moss, small fish, and the occasional kingfisher.They would appear as tiny blue phantoms hovering about thirty feet over the pond, and then dart head first into the water for a prized fish. It was high drama for such a diminutive bird to display such prowess. Something like the sighting of a hummingbird, it sets the heart aflutter.
The 'bird hotel' has almost 200 entrance holes leading to nesting boxes. Two of the boxes are specifically designed for kingfishers while the others are to entice sand martins.
A series of photos provides a glimpse of the majestic bird and its nest of growing hatchlings.
It was the Rainbow gave thee birth,
And left thee all her lovely hues;
And, as her mother’s name was Tears,
So runs it in my blood to choose
For haunts the lonely pools, and keep
In company with trees that weep.... from The Kingfisher by William Henry Davies
What in nature sets your heart aflutter?
