The flying gem, the blue bolt or the kingfisher. These are names for the kingfisher. This bird is doing quite well in Drenthe, but not with the nest walls in which it breeds.
Kingfisher expert Harry Kiewiet is already working with a shovel to repair the nest walls that were damaged during the winter. They have suffered from the weather. The walls crumble due to frost and high water.
The birds prefer to dig a nest in steep banks, without vegetation, near flowing water. Kiewiet has constructed about ten of these types of banks in recent years. Some are made of concrete, with holes in them. Others he builds entirely by hand.
“It is very hard work,” says Kiewiet. He is restoring a bank in the Coevorder Binnenvree district. He scoops sand from the bottom of the water on top of the bank, so that it becomes steep again. “Every free hour I spend in the field and I am very active in repairing and making kingfisher walls.” The bank he is now working on is in someone’s backyard. It is not unusual for kingfishers to occur in cities.