Exotic bird may be in decline

I WAS walking the dog along the canal bank when I saw something that I always find exciting, however often it happens. A kingfisher burst out of a bank-side bush and headed off low over the water — an electric blue streak, wings beating so fast they were a blur.

Kingfishers must have the most exotic plumage of any Irish bird. They really look as though they belong in a tropical rainforest rather than on the banks of the Grand Canal. The back is a metallic cobalt colour and this is tinged with green on the head and wings, the under-parts and ear coverts are bright chestnut and the chin and sides of the neck are white.

The beak is black and orange and the legs are bright red.