Kings Landing

The kingfisher, not always the easiest bird to spot, even though it's so brightly coloured,but luckily this was perched on an overhanging branch by a local river very close to the footpath.

Obviously waiting to catch his dinner, they usually feed on small fish or frogs and nest in deep tubular tunnel shaped nest lined with fish bones.
You can normally hear them as they have a very loud whistle, but not easy to spot as they can reach speeds of up to 45mph.

The female has a red base on her bill. The male a white throat patch.

We have no other similar species in this country so I feel quite honoured to have seen this one.