Black-headed Gull fishing at The Ocean

The early morning mists lifted and the day became beautifully sunny with no wind. I couldn’t resit the urge to go to the canal near Stonehouse and try to find a kingfisher to watch. I’d recently seen pictures by a local bird watcher who often photographs them on that bit of the canal, os thought it was worth a gamble.

I parked near St Cyr’s church, which was built in the 14th century, but largely rebuilt in mid-Victorian times. I walked through the graveyard to the towpath of the Stroudwater Canal which itself was constructed in the 1770s right beside the old church and very close to the River Frome. The old canal has been regenerated and the latest works a mile or so downstream from here will enable it to be reconnect with the Gloucester to Sharpness canal  and thus to the whole inland waterway network of England and Wales.

I crossed the newly replaced swing bridge to the south side towpath and began to approach the railways bridge at The Ocean, a wider basin originally built for turning the long sea going canal boats. At that point the wider expanse of water attracts a variety of birds, including nesting swans, ducks, coots, herons and of course gulls. I have also had previous luck photographing kingfishers on this stretch of the canal

A kingfisher flying after diving for food

A kingfisher at St Cyr's

Shaking a tail feather or two

I chatted briefly to a walker on the towpath, passing the time of day, and as I did so, I spotted a kingfisher fly up to a perch on the far bank by the railway bridge. I hadn’t yet prepared my camera and by the time I managed to grab two (blurry) shots from a distance, it was scared away by a dog walker.

I walked up the canal and hovered with hope, but no real expectation, which was lucky, as I didn’t see one again. A pair of swans and two large cygnets passed by, coots squawked and pottered about amongst the reeds and the sun shone.

On my way back towards the church, I noticed a flock of about twenty black-headed gulls were occupying the basin and repelling allcomers. I was intrigued by one which seemed to have identified food just below the surface and was repeatedly leaping into the air to then dive under the water. It gave me a chance to test out my new camera’s talents using an adapter and my older generation lens.

Update:
I've now added an 'Extra' showing the next moment!