On December 2nd 2016 Steve reported: "I was overjoyed to have another new species this morning for me here - A Kingfisher. I was walking along the waters edge in Stari Grad to be joined by this beautifully coloured bird, flying from boat to boat as I was walking. Annoyingly no camera but I was certainly no further than 3 metres away on several occasions. I remember Alison Bujić reported seeing one in the Zavala Bay near Stari Grad in April this year, but this was the first time for me."
On December 20th Steve saw the Kingfisher again, and this time had his camera at the ready to record the moments (pictured above). During December he was pleased to see a Mistle Thrush at last: he had been puzzled not to see any of the Winter Thrushes on Hvar, as he said in his article about bird sightings, so this was a reassuring surprise. Maybe there will be a few more before the year finally draws to a close!
December 27th, a further report: "A short walk out in Stari Grad on Christmas morning got me a series of Kingfisher shots, this one possibly better than the last one sent.
Most unexpected, I was looking to take a picture of the Grey Wagtail, often seen near the water in Stari Grad by the park. However I was caught out with almost not enough time to get the shot before the bird was away: a Sparrowhawk bathing, not quite in focus but you don’t get long! I’m not expecting to see anything new this side of New Year."
