Hi,
I have a kingfisher nest at the bottom of my road, its lovely and i see the kingfisher at least twice a week. and often hovering or flying in wide circles arround me. But i'm a little worried about the site its chosen. As it is (i think) under a bridge on an access road to a fishing lake and a busy spot for dogs and children. In the summer children play in the stream right next to the bridge and you quite often get young teens hanging about in the evenings. If it has nested under the bridge then there is the added problem of vibrations from lots of 4 wheel drives going across what is quite a week structure. Its also right next to a main road but i don't think that's too much of a problem.
I guess there is nothing to be done but to enjoy the sightings, but any suggestions about how to protect it or wether i should contact anyone would be much appreciated?
Cheers
silvdo said:I guess there is nothing to be done but to enjoy the sightings
You're absolutely right, this is all you can do.
Best wishes Chris
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The kingfisher is actually a schedule 1 species under the wildlife and countryside act 1981 which under this schedule means that intentional disturbance during the time that the nest is active would be an offence. If you do see anyone intentionally causing disturbance to the kingfisher during nesting please report it to the police via your local forces switchboard.
However, by the sounds of it the site is regularly prone to disturbance, if the birds have chosen to nest there despite this fact then it is likely that they feel safe enough. It would be an unusual site for a nest as they are mostly associated with vertical banks over water the waters edge.
Keep an eye on them from a safe distance and fingers crossed they will do well.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Thanks IanH and Chris
Last year it nested a bit further down stream slightly more secluded, but i can see why it like the current site its a bridge next to a waterfall on a tumbled down old mill. so lots of brickwork. But this is the same reason that the children like it too.
I'll keep an eye on it.