The sun didn’t quite sneak through but for a damp Tuesday in the last week of October, we met quite a few other boats and it was mild. Shane saw a jay while I wasn’t looking, just a a quick flight, but he recognised the colours. I saw a robin on the towpath and later while I was driving I saw a flash rising from the canal and darting into a tree and got a great view of a kingfisher with a fish in its beak, perched on a branch. The leaves and berries were bright too. Shane, looking for the kingfisher, was at first confusing the orange leaves with its russet breast.