European Kingfisher

Our hotel in Mauzac is directly on a wide portion of the Dordogne river,with a lock just to its left (it is the final lock of a now inactive canal which parallels the river at least from Bergerac. There are at least two common kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) which sporadically patrol the lock and the rest of the bank; since our arrival on Tuesday the others in our little tour group had had better luck than me in seeing their rapid flights and brief perches. But finally (on our final morning) I was in luck, with this perfectly posed perch beside the lock for at least fifteen seconds, which gave my time to fetch my camera.

Though our tour was brief and the weather mixed, it was overall a very good experience. Another couple joined us from England and we were led by David, an experienced English birder who has lived nearby for a decade with his French partner. They maintain a wonderfully designed gîte (rental house) in traditional style, which he showed us this morning.