The last time I saw Kingfishers I saw was a little over two years ago, in the West Bank section of Nore Linear Park. In former years, a Kingfisher in Booterstown seemed a fairly reliable sighting.
I would have thought that sections of the River Suir, and the local streams such as the Clashawley would be ideal Kingfisher habitat. Yet I have not seen any, nor have I on (admittedly very hurried and irregular) visits to the Nore Linear Park or Booterstown.
The decline of the Kingfisher in Europe is well documented. I note that BirdWatch Ireland list Booterstown as a reliable site to see the bird. So perhaps I have been unlucky or have had poor timing. Nevertheless, I am curious about the lack of Suir Kingfishers (no doubt the lack of kingfishers I have seen rather than a lack per se)
ps Simon Barnes has a lovely blog post about an unexpected Kingfisher sighting
Séamus Sweeney 