What are these birds?

We moved on from Coventry Basin this morning and turned onto the Oxford Canal at Sutton Stop. On the way to Stretton Stop, where we tied up for the night, we saw some birds we can't remember having seen before.

They flew like kingfishers ...

... but are obviously not kingfishers. Two other boaters independently expressed their mystification.

They called out as they flew, making a sound a bit like a woodpecker's call. They wagged their tails when on the ground.

Can someone identify them for me from my poor photos? (Irene?)

As we passed under the M6 there was a bit of a queue heading towards Birmingham. These lorries were stationary.

Oslo, a R. W. Davies boat, looked resplendent in the afternoon light. We even had a little sunshine, interspersed with some light showers of rain.

We walked into Brinklow to check out the White Lion and its curry house. But it is no longer a curry house. (Grr.) They now do pizzas, but we didn't fancy that so we returned to the boat for Plan B: lamb chops.