A gilded kingfisher diving blue

Every morning I cross the Taff on my way to university.  Sometimes it’s high and fast-flowing; sometimes it’s grey and unassuming; sometimes it’s shrouded in mist.  This morning, it was wholly unexceptional; I nearly missed the flash of bright kingfisher perched on a branch at the river’s edge below me.  I’ve never seen one in the flesh before.  They are so blue.  They are bluer than blue.  This one was bigger than I thought they generally were.  He perched there long enough for me to take his picture, and then (presumably satisfied with the attention) flew off to carry on his morning.

Photographic proof – albeit of poor quality!

A photograph of a kingfisher taken by a proper photographer

My weekend has been preoccupied with birds.  Yesterday, we took Greg’s mum to an ‘Owl Experience’ in North Somerset for her birthday.  She got to hold and fly a variety of…