Kingfisher: Three times as many seen this yearDuring last year’s harsh winter there were gloomy predictions that waterside wildlife would be devastated.
However to the surprise of experts there has been a mini-renaissance in the birds and animals that depend on rivers, streams and ponds.
It was feared that kingfishers, in particular, would starve to death as water froze over.
But a survey of rivers and canals logged more than three times as many this year as last, proving the ‘river royalty’ to be more than a match for the weather.
The kingfisher is not the only species riding out the storm, with numbers of newts, toads and otters also on the rise.
British Waterways, which conducts the annual poll, had feared that coldest winter for more than 30 years had taken a devastating toll on wildlife.
Unable to break through the ice on ponds and streams to get food, thousands of kingfishers and other water birds were expected to starve to death.
Last summer’s floods also washed away many nests.
But against the odds there were 596 sightings this year, a 217 per cent rise on 2009.
Numbers of otters started to climb after harmful pesticides were banned in the 1970s and it became an offence to kill the animals intentionally. They are also benefiting from a clean-up of rivers, which has allowed fish to return.
The resurgence of the otter is good news for the water vole. Once a common sight, it became the fastest declining native mammal thanks to pollution, loss of habitat and predatory mink.
The otter: It has benefited from cleaned-up rivers, allowing fish to returnThe number of mink spotted this year dropped by more than a third, probably due to the rise of the otter.
Mark Robinson, British Waterways national ecology manager, said: ‘The decrease in the number of mink could be related to the recent increase in number of otters, as our native otters out-compete mink for territory. Water voles often make a tasty meal for mink.’
He added: ‘Following last winter’s harsh weather we were concerned that some species, and in particular kingfishers, could suffer. I’m delighted we’ve had so many records of kingfishers this year.
‘The results really show the resilience of nature and the importance of our canal and river network in providing vital shelter and food for a wide variety of wildlife.’
The survey logged a rise in house sparrows but drops in hedgehogs, grass snakes and coots.
source: dailymail
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