This rather forlorn looking heron was standing on the bank of the river Wear in Durham city on Sunday, watching the river level rise and its fishing prospects vanish. Since then this stretch of river has become a torrent of muddy flood water.
Hungry times for birds like herons and kingfishers, that need to see their prey in order to catch it ...
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It's heartbreaking to see this situation again, Phil, when these birds have had such a tough time of it already this year. It's not just the fishing birds that have suffered with the weather. The impact on breeding (and,therefore, the sustaining of the population) seems to have been highly significant. Let's hope for a few 'good years' so that numbers can recover.
ReplyDeleteHadn't thought about that side effect of all the fast flowing water.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I hadn't thought of that either. I heard on the radio that this recent weather will affect future generations of migrating birds and what a sad thought that is.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Richard - the middle of the 'summer' was a total washout as far as some of our local breeding birds was concerned.
ReplyDeleteI think quite a few birds that fish in freshwater tend to head towards the coast during floods and freezing conditions, where they have a better chance of finding food in brackish water
ReplyDeleteHi toffeeapple, I have seen quite a few herons in fields that flooded over the last couple of days - I wonder if they are switching to worms and even perhaps drowned moles as alternative food sources.
ReplyDeleteI hope that they do find alternative foods.
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