Kotare, the kingfisher, is around here in numbers again and it
is good to hear their friendly piping as well as their harsh
alarm rattle. They seem to have had a good breeding season as
many are juveniles, being brownish in colour, unlike the
brilliant blue and green of the adults. They had virtually
disappeared from around here over the last few years, I think
largely because of the carelessness of local council workers who
came along the road to cut back about a foot off the cuttings
just at the wrong time of the year. It was late in November and
the nesting sites, together with the young birds, were
destroyed. It was sad to see the parents afterwards, frantically
trying to make new nesting holes, literally throwing themselves
against the banks. It was not a good year for them.  I am a bit
surprised to see so many of them around here at this time of
year as I was under the impression that during the autumn and
winter months they headed for the coast, to the mud flats where
food in the form of crabs is abund