The Kingfisher Himself

[John H]

I have been wanting to get some good kingfisher pictures for sometime now. I look up to him as the real deal as fish catchers go. I got a good picture of one a couple of years ago but that was very lucky and I have not come close to repeating that.

He is a very wary bird and 100 feet is about as close to him as he will let you get. 30 feet is about where you want to be but you don't get anywhere close to that before he rattles at you and flies off. Pretty frustrating so I bought a photography blind. It is kind of a small tent with a hole to poke the camera lens out. I found a spot he likes to fish, set up a perch for him in a spot I thought would make a good photo and got in the blind to wait. He showed up in about 20 minutes and fished in the pool in front of me for an hour. I thought I might wait 2 hours and go home with nothing so it was a huge success to get him to show up and stay for a while. The perch I set up was too low for a good fishing vantage point so he mostly sat in trees he liked but did land on my perch a couple of times to eat a fish he had caught. My best pictures were on the perch I set up because it was at eye level and close to me. He looked at me directly several times so I think he knew I was in there but I guess did not care. He caught maybe 8 fish while I watched him which seemed like a lot of food for a bird that size. I don't know what kind of fish they were but my friend says they are sticklebacks. He really mopped them up. Quite a bird.

I got a black pheobe picture also. He is a bug eater. Pretty good at it but he is no kingfisher. I also don't quite measure up to the kingfisher but I did catch a nice smallmouth bass at Berryessa a few weeks ago. I am on a 30 day quarantine at Berryessa so I can't go back and get another one until Christmas. Not much fishing going on for me right now.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

"Natural Geographic" level.

"There are approximately 120 species of kingfishers, which are part of the Alcedinidae family. Kingfishers are found on most of the planet, but are not evenly distributed. Most species are found in Asia, Africa, and Australia, and only six species are found in the New World.
Kingfishers are known for their bulky bodies, thick heads, heavy bills, and strong feet. They live in a variety of habitats, including near water, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, mangrove forests, coral atolls, tropical forests, open woodlands, mountains, and deserts."

They come in sizes from 4 inches to 16.5 inches.

[DLJeff]

Very cool John and well done. I'm pretty sure most of the really good photos you see of birds are taken from blinds after much patience and time dedicated. Like you, kingfishers are one of my favorite birds and I'm always on the lookout to grab any photo of them I can. I've gotten one or two decent shots in Mexico and in the Amazon. I think those birds are a little less spooky than our ringed kingfishers we see. There's one down on the Deschutes near me that I make a point to check on but he never lets me get within range.

The book Halcyon Journey by Marina Richie tells the story of her doing exactly what you did over the course of a couple summers in Montana. You might enjoy it.

[John H]

I will check out that book. From what I have seen long hours in the blind are what people do but the potential reward is a great wildlife encounter. I will need to find some good opportunities to use it. I am not looking forward to 3 hours in the blind and coming home with nothing but it could happen.

[John H]

I bought that book. Thanks for the tip on that. The author is looking for a kingfisher nesting burrow to observe and study. I had no idea they nested in burrows but yesterday I was out and am pretty sure I found a burrow. They are not in it now but it matches the description perfectly and it is in an active male’s territory. Maybe in March and April I can get some shots of them coming and going. If I get some good shots I will post them because I know everyone loves bird pictures.

[k.hanley]

Keep 'em coming John. Your photography journey has been fun to witness. Well done bud!

[DLJeff]

Very cool. That'd be awesome if you set up your blind on the nest site and got photos of the juveniles. If it is a nest site and the parents use it, they'll be coming and going constantly so you'd get plenty of opportunities.

[Mr T]

John your photos are fantastic- thanks for sharing them with us!