Kingfisher in Bushy Park!

luckat

Was walking down by the river today and I saw what looked like a blue budgie whizzing by - brown underneath, bright blue on top. Birdwatchers told me it was a kingfisher!

(Mind you, they didn't know there were egrets there a few weeks back.)

crosstownk

On Saturday morning I was walking over the Dodder Bridge at Rathfarnham SC (Springfield Ave) and sitting on the rocks in the river was this big Kingfisher type bird. I've done a bit of checking on the interweb and I think it was a Belted Kingfisher which are apparently rare enough here.

Has anybody else seen this bird? Can anyone confirm what sort of bird it is? It looked liked this > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Kingfisher

abetarrush

crosstownk wrote:

On Saturday morning I was walking over the Dodder Bridge at Rathfarnham SC (Springfield Ave) and sitting on the rocks in the river was this big Kingfisher type bird. I've done a bit of checking on the interweb and I think it was a Belted Kingfisher which are apparently rare enough here.

Has anybody else seen this bird? Can anyone confirm what sort of bird it is? It looked liked this > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Kingfisher

I'd say it was more than likely a Heron you saw

crosstownk

abetarrush wrote:

I'd say it was more than likely a Heron you saw

Nope - I don't think it was a Heron. I'm gonna head down there and see if I can spot it again and take a photo and post it.

Alun

There's a huge size difference between a Kingfisher and a Heron Not easy to mix up, and Herons wouldn't easily be described as (in the OP's words) a 'blue budgie'!

crosstownk

A Belted Kingfisher is considerably bigger than a Kingfisher as described by the OP. I can see why abettarush suggested a heron - similar colours to a Belted Kingfisher. The Belted Kingfisher is not seen in Ireland all that often. But it's the ruffled feathers on the bird that I saw that have me almost convinced it was a Belted Kingfisher. I've a half day tomorrow so I'll head down to the Dodder on the offchance I'll get another look and hopefully a photo.

abetarrush

Alun wrote:

There's a huge size difference between a Kingfisher and a Heron Not easy to mix up, and Herons wouldn't easily be described as (in the OP's words) a 'blue budgie'!

In the great words of Father Ted

"Small....... Far away!"

Haha

You just seemed unsure, so thought i'd throw it out there

crosstownk

abetarrush wrote:

In the great words of Father Ted

"Small....... Far away!"

Haha

You just seemed unsure, so thought i'd throw it out there

Possibly - but I'm not convinced. I'm by no means a 'bird expert' but I do pay attention and try to identify all birds that I see. The guy I seen on Saturday was soooo different to anything I've seen before. I'll be looking out tomorrow if the weather is good an if I've anything to report I'll let you know.

Vireo

Belted Kingfisher (an American kingfisher) is an absolute stonking rarity in Ireland with only three official records ever. The last one in Ireland was in 1985 in Co. Tipperary.

There was one in the UK last year in April - but there were only two other records before that in the UK.

Keep us posted if you see it again and you are sure it is a Belted Kingfisher. Get a photo!

jmkennedyie

If it is a belted kingfisher you are very lucky. If someone has money to spare, they could see if anyone else has reported one on the 1550 phone service listed here: http://www.birdsireland.com/pages/rare_bird_news.html

Perhaps another option is a knackered adult kingfisher??? Or maybe a juvenile kingfisher??? At this time of the year an adult might look particularly banjaxed after breeding and raising young, or a juvenile might not have the typical plumage developed just yet.

However if the size was significantly bulkier than normal knigfisher then I guess these are not options.

Good luck with the 'hunt'

crosstownk

Right - I was down at the Dodder today and saw nada. No herons and no Belted Kingfishers. Given it's rarity here, I'm starting to doubt myself now.......... But I'll keep looking and keep you posted. I might give the 1550 number a go (from work tomorrow ).