The animals that live in a river habitat are varied and fascinating, if you take the time to study them closely and find out more. Here are some facts about just a few of the creatures that have made the river their home.

Project Kingfisher At Home River Wildlife: Follow Up Activity

Challenge: See if you can answer these questions about each river animal.

Where does it make its home? What part of the river?

What does it like to eat?

How does it protect itself from predators?

What else makes it interesting?

Kingfishers mainly eat small fish, (minnows and sticklebacks are favourites), but will also eat invertebrates and tadpoles. Kingfishers must eat at least their own weight in fish each day to survive!

They fish in slow-moving rivers with overhanging branches from which they can spot their prey.

They dive into the water with their eyes closed and beak open, having worked out how far beneath the surface the prey is when watching from their perch.

They nest deep inside a burrow in a sandy riverbank which they dig with their beaks.

Their numbers have been affected by river pollution and damage to riverbanks, which makes it difficult for them to find a place to nest.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Kingfisher

Eels are born about 3,000 miles away in the Sargasso Sea, near Bermuda. It takes around 3 years for them to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and reach UK rivers.

An eel spends most of its life in our rivers (between 6 to 20 years) but it can struggle to get to some parts of the river because there are barriers (weirs) in the way.

Young eels are transparent (see-through), but as they grow larger they start to turn dark green / brown with a silvery belly so they can camouflage on the riverbed of plants or gravel.

Adult eels can grow up to 1 m long!

Eels can spend a short time out of water and can travel through wet grass to get to a new water body

They are carnivores and scavengers, feeding at night, mainly on dead and dying animals, fish and invertebrates that live in the gravel riverbed.

Sadly, European Eel numbers have decreased by around 90% in just 20 years.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

European Eel

Stone loaches usually live at the bottom of fast-flowing streams and rivers, partly burying themselves in the gravel and stones, where they are very well camouflaged.

They are carnivores, feeding on invertebrates like freshwater shrimps and insect larvae that live in the gravel riverbed.

Stone loaches are mostly active at night, using their big whisker-like ’barbels’ (which have their taste buds inside) to help them find their invertebrate prey in the dark.

Their eyes are positioned high on their heads, so they can look out for danger in the water above them.

They can tolerate a small amount of pollution from farming, but they are very sensitive to other types of pollution.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Stone Loach

The male Mallard is brightly coloured to attract a female.

The female lays eggs in a nest and sits on the eggs to keep them warm so it is important for her to be hidden from her predators (such as a fox) to keep herself, her eggs and the ducklings safe when they hatch.

The female hides her nest in plants (like reeds) along the river bank where her brown colour keeps her camouflaged.

Mallards eat small insects in the water as well as some plants / seeds.

Mallards need lots of places to get in and out of the water easily (especially when they are young) so they can get to their food.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Mallard

Freshwater shrimp are a type of invertebrate called a crustacean—like crabs and lobsters.

They live at the bottom of ponds, lakes, rivers and streams in between stones where they like to hide from predators.

They swim on their side, have lots of legs and are shaped like a comma.

They can be up to 2 cm long.

They breathe through gills on their legs.

Freshwater shrimps feed on dead plants and other things that collect in the gravel and stones on the river bed.

They are sometimes found in pairs. The male is bigger than the female.

The male looks after the eggs.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Freshwater Shrimp

The grey heron is the UK’s tallest bird, with long legs, a long neck, plumes of long feathers from its head and a dagger-like bill. It is difficult to mistake it for anything else!

They mainly eat fish and eels but will also eat frogs, the young of other water birds, and sometimes even small mammals. They can stand still for ages in the water at the river’s edge, patiently hunting their prey.

They make their nests in tall trees.

They live alone most of the year but gather together in a group when nesting—this is known as a heronry.

Herons can be affected if they eat fish from polluted water.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Grey heron

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Grey Wagtail

Grey wagtails build their nests out of twigs, grass and moss near the river in a crevice of a wall or tree.

Even though it is called a grey wagtail, the bird is bright yellow underneath!

These birds are lovely to watch – you will often see them at the river’s edge doing a little dance wagging their tails.

They catch small insects from the water to eat.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Dragonfly

Dragonflies can fly up, down, left, right, performing amazing stunts in the air!

The young, called nymphs, live in the water for up to 2 years, where they eat lots of other insects.

Their brownish-grey colour helps them camouflage on the riverbed.

To transform into adults, they climb out of the river onto a tall plant at the water’s edge and open out their wings for the first time to dry in the sun.

They will only live for a couple of days as an adult.

The dragonfly rests with its wings open like an aeroplane, but a damselfly, which is similar, will rest with his wings together behind his back.

Adult dragonfly

(green-eyed hawker)

Dragonfly nymph

Bullhead are a small, strangely-shaped fish, with a very large head and large fins.

They live on the bottom of fast-flowing, stony rivers and streams. Unlike most fish, they have no swim bladder (as they don’t want to float up).

Their colour helps them camouflage on the riverbed.

They feed on invertebrates such as mayfly and caddisfly larvae, and the eggs of other fish.

Females lay 200-250 yellow eggs (only 2 mm big!) but it is the male who protects and looks after them for three weeks until the fry (young fish) hatch.

They are very sensitive to water pollution and their numbers have decreased in recent years.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

Bullhead

Otters live on both land and in the water—they are ‘semi-aquatic’ creatures.

They are at the top of the food chain. They mostly eat fish (eels are a favourite), but also eat other things, including crayfish, frogs and birds.

They are very well adapted to being in water. They have webbed feet, streamlined bodies, thick rudder-like tails and dense fur for waterproofing. They can even close their ears and nostrils under water!

Otters are usually nocturnal (active at night), so you’ll be lucky if you see one!

Otter numbers in the UK became really low because of human actions, including changes to river banks and pollution from farming. Over recent years, thanks to laws protecting them and improvements to rivers, their numbers are slowly increasing.

South East Rivers Trust Fact File

European Otter