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Why this fisher is king of castle


THISlittle beauty is one of the few species to be enjoying the season- able coldweather, putting in more regular appearances at Leeds Cas- tle than in the last five years. The castle’s wildlife warden


James McComiskey says he is curently making three or four sight- ings each day. He added: “A couple of weeks


ago, I spotted four kingfishers to- gether at one time. Two of them were flying around the moat and two were fighting on the ground. This was the first time I had ever witnessed fighting kingfishers and it was so amazing that I started showing visitors.” The bird is identified by its blue


and orange feathers and long dag- ger-like bill (black on the males and with a red base on females). The birds are usually to be found nesting and hunting around large, slow-flowing rivers, canals and lakes, but in recentweeks, the freez- ing temperatures have made the castle a must-place-to-be for the picky kingfishers, many of which previously perished because of a lack of food during the coldest months. However, rising temperatures


and our mild winters have seen a relative population explosion, with more avian visitors to the castle this winter than in the last five years.Mr McComiskey says kingfishers are


notoriously challenging to spot and photograph because of their small size and speed. Most often they can be seen perching motionless when fishing or sometimes hovering be- fore plunging into the water after a fish. Look out for a flash of blue or listen out for their call, which is the best clue to their presence, espe- cially with a noisy territorial king- fisher. Mr McComiskey adds: “The best


time of year to spot kingfishers is in the winter,whenthere are no leaves, and the young have recently fledged the nest and are less fearful of people.


“Kingfishers are most active in the morning but I have seen them throughout the day at Leeds Castle. They prefer quieter days generally, although I have seen them flying aroundwhenthe castle has been ex- tremely busy.” Popular places to see them in-


clude the moat, the Barbican and the wood garden.


Lapwings flock to Kent


A FARMLAND bird believed to be in serious decline is being spotted in large numbers in and around Maidstone. Large flocks of lapwings, which has a distinctive curled crest on its head,


have been observed in flocks of several hundred near Leeds Castle, on land off the A20 near Lenham, Headcorn and Eccles. Whilst it may signal a wel-


comereturn afterapopulation plunge since the late 1980s, experts say harsh weather across the Channel may have forced the birds to seek sanc- tuary in the UK. There are few areas of the


British Isles which have not seen a severe drop in lapwing numbers and Kent is among the worst. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), which now has the species on its endangered “red list”, says that there are about 140,000 breeding pairs in the UK while over-wintering populations can be 650,000. The numbers have dropped by80%since the 1960s, largelydowntonew


farming techniques, which have altered the birds’ feeding grounds. The lapwing is much-lovedas one of nature’sweather forecasters – the ar-


rival of large flocks indicate the onset ofacold snap while tumbling flight dis- plays and its distinctive “peewit” call noting the coming of spring. A regular walker in the grounds around Leeds Castle said: “You so rarely


see lapwings these days, sowhen Iwaswalking near Broomfield and saw lit- erally hundreds of them, itwas such a joy.” The lapwing is generally found in the northern areas of the UK, Somerset and various estuaries.


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Maidstone March 2017 17


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