Country diary: the kingfisher highway is deserted

Spetisbury, Dorset: As the river at the bottom of our garden swells during heavy rainfall, an otter appears and the kingfishers vanishThe river at the bottom of our garden is like a gigantic rain gauge. Normally it is a humble tributary, lurching past the garden almost grudgingly, with its head down, with barely the current to stir the duckweed. But after the deluges of the past few days, it has morphed into a confident swirl.Two things always happen when it gets into its macho flow. The first is that the otter appears, as it did today. The strength and heft of the main River Stour across the fields is perhaps a deterrent, a little too tiring for fishing, so the otter re-routes to our more manageable stretch. The other event is that our kingfishers vanish. Continue reading...