Birdwatching - 2106 🐦

🦉 The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

• Alcedo alcedinis, alcyon, or halcedo, halcedinis (lat.) kingfisher; word "hals" in ancient Greek language meant "sea", along with the word thalassa. According to ancient Greek mythology Alcyone (Alcyone), the daughter of the wind god Eol, was the wife of Keix, who drowned due to the wrath of the gods. Alcyone, out of grief, threw herself into the sea, and also died. The gods had mercy and turned the spouses into kingfishers. Looking for her husband, Alcyone calls all the time “Keix! Keix!" and dives, trying to find him in the sea. Alcyone days - two weeks of calm weather around the day winter solstice. During these days, Eol pacified the winds so that Alcyone, in the form of a kingfisher, could hatch chicks in her nest floating on the waves.
• atthis (ancient Greek mythology) Attis, a divine youth of extraordinary beauty

I love watching these incredibly beautiful and bright birds. And in the spring, when they have a mating season, it is easiest to do this. There is always one pair nesting in a ravine, and in this place the female always sits and waits, while the male is in search of food near the river where he catches fish.

In the summer, when their fledglings are already growing up, they spend most of their time on a small lake near the river bank, there are always small fish there, and they catch these fish and feed their children who sit on the branches of bushes.
I don't know when these birds fly back to warm countries, but it happens quite early, and most likely it is connected with the growing up of their children and not with a change in the weather or anything else.