Birders across the UK have been trying to spot the elusive belted kingfisher for months, with sightings reported in Chorley’s Withnell Fold Nature Reserve, Samlesbury, the River Ribble and beyond.
Now, new images, video and audio have emerged of the belted kingfisher as it makes its home in Lancashire.
Brockholes, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve just off the M6 at Preston, has seen an increase in visitors, keen to spot the bird after it was first seen there in October. It is generally only found on inland lakes in the United States and Canada.
It is believed to be only the fourth time the bird has been spotted in the United Kingdom – the last sighting was in Staffordshire in 2005, but one was seen in Ireland over the past couple of years.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: "The arrival of this bird, which has only been seen a couple of times in the UK, is really exciting.
“It has certainly caused a stir in Withnell Fold, near Chorley, with the arrival of birders galore.
"It has been spotted on the Ribble, the Darwen and the Leeds/Liverpool Canal, so hopefully, the belted kingfisher will have enough food in our local rivers to survive.
“It certainly shows that we have habitats to support our native species and a visitor, which might pop in on a stormy wind."
The bird was initially seen by fisherman and birder George Shannon on the River Ribble near Samlesbury, before it flew onto the nature reserve where it has been spotted by three or four local birders.
Belted kingfisher on the River Ribble (Photo: George Shannon)
Birder, Leonard Poxon, spotted the bird fishing on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Withnell Fold near Chorley.
He said: “I have been watching the reports of the belted kingfisher that appeared on the River Ribble in October, noting that it visited the River Darwen and then the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at a time of heavy rain.
"I conjectured that it may re-locate again to the canal should the conditions on the River Darwen deteriorate after another period of heavy rain.
A belted kingfisher spotted on the Leeds-Liverpool canal (Photo: Leonard Poxon)
“I thought I would test out my theory and have a look for it at Withnell Fold. My luck was in, and I found the kingfisher where it had been seen previously. I saw it plunge dive several times and saw it catch at least one fish.”
Alan Wrightson captured a video of the bird as it rested in a tree in Samlesbury on 27 December.
Alan and two of his friends made the two hour journey from Hull in order to capture the bird on film.
A short Phonescoped video taken at samlesbury, Lancashire. 27.12.21
— Alan Wrightson (@WrightsonAlan) January 3, 2022
Samsung A6 Phone with Swarovski Atm 80 Telescope pic.twitter.com/yNbaO3YnBn
He told the Lancashire Telegraph: “We had to walk about a mile to were the bird was showing well most of the day, when we arrived on site there was a farmer collecting £10.00 each to access the area where the bird was showing
“We were very lucky seeing this bird, because it only showed once early morning the previous day, I was keeping watch on the birds sightings from a subscribed app which updates daily.”
Jacob Spinks also captured audio of the bird “calling frequently” and “flopping in the water.
An audio recording of the Belted Kingfisher in Lancashire that showed very well throughout the morning and was calling frequently. It put on a great performance and it was awesome to see 'flopping in the water' every so often as it flew upstream. pic.twitter.com/uddZYuQgy7
— Jacob Spinks (@SBO_Jason) December 27, 2021
The belted kingfisher is bigger than our kingfishers, it has a dark blue head, with a white collar, a large blue band on its chest and is white underneath. Its back and wings are blue-black. Its most prominent feature is the shaggy crest on its head.
It is found across most of North America but it does migrate into the southern states, Mexico, and the Caribbean in winter. It has been seen in Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal as well as the UK.
Alan Wright, Head of Communications at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust said: “We first heard about the belted kingfisher at Brockholes in October and then it laid low for a little while. Now birders are spotting it around the rivers and canals in South Lancashire, pretty much every day.
“It’s a big bird so it couldn’t hide away for too long, even though it is really shy. There is a good chance that the bird will remain in the area long term if it likes the conditions.”
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