I had a lovely lunchtime earlier this week down by the river in University Parks.

I had been hoping that I might see the kingfisher again, which I briefly spotted in July. That was entirely fulfilled. I saw a flash of blue across the water and what appeared to be a hint of orange appearing in an otherwise green willow standing by the riverbank. A few minutes later, I spotted the kingfisher diving into the river and then returning to somewhere more hidden on the far bank. Finally, I saw it fly back down the river to a different spot. Observations with the naked eye from about 20-30 metres but a clear spot.

As a bonus, I also saw a green woodpecker. I was talking to a passing colleague who saw it behind me. It didn’t fly away when I turned round and was still there, pecking in the grass, after we’d finished our conversation, so I got a good long look at that, too (and this was only from 8-10 metres away).

Wonderful!