Its been another good season for the Rye Meads Kingfishers, although at times they've really kept us guessing!
At the Kingfisher Hub, a new male arrived and was quickly put in his place by the female, leading to three successful broods. Although they took a little while to get going, once the first brood hatched, there was a short crossover with the second - so short that they hatched a week before we were expecting! A third followed and fledged this week, and there have been lots of great sightings of youngsters learning to fish at the Gadwall Hide.
At the Draper Hide we know of at least two broods. Its been interesting at this hide, with mixed reports of what's been going on from our visitors. At one point there appeared to be three adults, and possibly some of the juveniles who had fledged from the Hub, which may have caused some disruption for a while. Still, a couple of successful broods, and at looks as though the two pairs of adults are all fit and healthy.
The kingfisher breeding season is pretty much over, but there are still sightings around the reserve both of the adults and the fledglings. At the hub, they continue to use the old breeding bank but there was a lot more interest in the new bank so we are hopeful that they will give it a go soon! Roll on 2023...
Matt Bartlett
Visitor Experience Manager - RSPB Rye Meads