Kingfisher nest in burrows excavated into river banks. They work as a pair for up to a couple of weeks digging the hole up to a meter deep into the bank. The tunnel ends with a nest chamber cleverly angled to prevent their eggs rolling down the tunnel into the river!

A pair could have a number of broods in a season, often excavating new burrows for each brood.

In some locations in the park the nesting opportunities are limited so we have created artificial nesting areas to encourage Kingfisher to breed.

In front of the Wildlife Discovery Centre at Fishers Green we have built a large nest bank with an exposed sandy face – perfect for Kingfisher to burrow into. In amongst the sand we’ve also installed some artificial tunnels and nest chambers, if they do use these we can insert a camera and get up-close views of the young, unfortunately nothing has nested here yet – other than solitary mining bees!

At Stanstead Innings we’ve installed more tunnels in a bund across the lake, set behind wooden shuttering to support the bank. At the entrance to the tunnel there is a dribble of white paint on the wood which is meant to imitate Kingfisher droppings – encouraging the birds with the prospect of a successful nest site.

Along the Old River Lea nest tunnels were installed into the natural bank to enhance the existing habitat during a wider project to enhance the river habitat.

The artificial nest bank at RSPB Rye Meads has been used successfully by Kingfisher over the years so we’re hopefully that our nest sites will also eventually be used. Details about visiting Rye Meads can be found on their website.