Kingfisher Doing Kingfisher Stuff

[canonloader]

Went to the wetlands today with my brothers bike. I wanted to cover a lot of distance, cause I have never been through all of it, and still haven't. The bike has one of those front baskets and two side baskets in the rear. Just big enough for my camera and tripod and some goodies to eat.

So I'm riding along and see this bird on a wire. I almost wrecked getting stopped when I realized what it was. He let me get a lot of shots, and I think I'll go back tomorrow for some early morning sun shots.

By the way, here is a link to a Kingfisher Slideshow (http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/american_kingfisher.html) I put up with many more shots of this bird that I didn't post here.

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0211-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0223-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0224-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0232-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0234-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0235-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0239-072107.jpg

http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/gallery/album1/large/kingfisher-img_0244-072107.jpg

[Ferco]

I know this may sound: childish, stupid... etc. lots of bad things lol but I always feel slightly disappointed when I open a thread entitled 'Kingfisher' and it's a foreigner; so to speak ;)
I guess I'm just so in love with out little blue dudes lol
Nice shots- I pretty sure ALL kingfishers are hard to photo
love the second last one

[Reyno]

Very nice series indeed Mitch.

[canonloader]

Richard, send some of those Kingfishers of yours over here, I'll turn them loose. It would be nice to have a couple other kinds to look at, cause I think this is the only breed in all of North America. :)

Thanks Reyno. Sun was almost straight up and I saved these as PS Quality 6 for easy loading, so not the best they could be. But, we got a week of hot sunny days coming up and I'm going to try for some early morning light tomorrow. ;)

[hTr]

A Difficult bird to catch for a picture I think they can smell a camera I mile away. You did well Mitch and shot 4 is really a fine shot. How close did you get?

[canonloader]

Thanks Gary. The stick he's on is across a small river. Maybe 80-90 feet away. The wire shots are both further. I was on a paved trail in the swamp, right at the end of sort of a tunnel of trees. People were going by without cameras and it didn't bother him at all. If you stop and look at them, off they go. I just waited him out. He flew off when I first got there, then came back. :)

[hTr]

Thanks Gary. The stick he's on is across a small river. Maybe 80-90 feet away. The wire shots are both further. I was on a paved trail in the swamp, right at the end of sort of a tunnel of trees. People were going by without cameras and it didn't bother him at all. If you stop and look at them, off they go. I just waited him out. He flew off when I first got there, then came back. :)

I found that they do have areas and use the same perch more often but really they a random even in feeding. Where in the hell are there paved trails in the swamp? Wisconsinite's will do anything the spend tax dollars.

[Gary Fairhead]

The fourth shot in particular works for me for the pose/head turn, sharpness and composition. Nice!

[Riverlander]

I too like #4 and think it is probably the most "usable".

[canonloader]

Where in the hell are there paved trails in the swamp? Wisconsinite's will do anything the spend tax dollars.
Well, this place is just weird. There are more tree hugging left wing nut jobs right here than anywhere else I have ever lived, and that includes 15 states for more than a year. They will spend more tax dollars on frivolous crap than you will ever imagine. These trails go through all of this town and out into the surrounding countryside and connect with other trials.

It's nice, but hey, I can sit in one spot on any given day, winter, spring, summer or fall and sometimes a half hour goes by and no one comes by. Ummm, is this kind of thing really needed? Today, nice summer day, a weekend, and there was almost nobody out there.

Thanks Gary. That is one of the better shots. You can see the reflected water on his belly in most of these too. Gives you an idea of the kind of light I had to deal with. :)

[Lame-Duck]

Nice series, Mitch. I don't care what anyone says, the Kingfisher's head is too big for it's body. :lol:

[Alex Paul]

Nice series Mitch :D

[canonloader]

Thanks Mike and Alex. His head is too big and his feet are too small. :)

[Ferco]

You're not getting any of my Kingfishers! lol
You think I could catch them- I'm flattered

[EZRider]

Always a cool bird to watch. Hard to get close to for me :(

[canonloader]

Thanks EZ. I was going to go out there early this morning, but again, we got clouds. It seems with this guy, I have found his favorite spot and actually saw him dive for fish in the clear, but, I wasn't ready for it. :)

[wlaramie]

Mitch, they all work for me. Great captures.

[canonloader]

Thanks Bill. I was thrilled to find this guy and get shots of him. At the time, I just took any shots he was willing to sit still for. Next time, I'll be planning out the background and trying for something easier to see. And I didn't have my 1.4TC with me. :)

[Cooper911]

I don't know how I ever missed this series. I love these lil guys and you did a nice job here. I particularly like #4...the pose is everything.

[canonloader]

Thanks Cooper. I think there were two of them in this one spot. I really need to get back there, but it's been grey and rainy since the day after I shot these.

[downywp]

Very nice shots, they are such a cool bird, the last one is a real beauty!:) ...btw I think there are also Ringed Kingfishers and Green Kingfishers here in N.America;)

[canonloader]

Thanks Downy. I looked it up and you are right, but it shows their range as the very southern tip of Texas. I doubt I will ever get to see one. :)

[rocklyons]

I would love to catch a good kingfisher shot. These are very nice.

[canonloader]

Hey thanks Rock. I found this one along a small river that runs through our local wetlands and has a nice path beside it. They are always going to be near water, since all they eat is fish. But the secret when looking for them is to look out ahead of where you are by 50 yards or so. They seem to be fairly skittish, although as a kid I remember them as not caring much if people were around or not. I had been warned that this one might be around, so I was looking for it too, that helped. And it still took off, not when I rode up on the bike, but when I stopped and stared at it with my jaw hanging open. :lol:

It came back though, even perched on that old snag across the river and let me take pics. He did seem to have other vantage points to fish from though, including the concrete piers of a bridge that crossed the river just downstream from those wires, so he was moving around every few minutes.

[sm1rf]

i was the same a bit dissappointed when it wasn't our native blue, but they are great pics all the same, especially #4

[canonloader]

Thanks sm1rf. This is the male too, so less colorful that the female. But neither are that turquoise color your UK fishers are. If you send me some of yours, I'll take good care of them. That ought to raise a few eyebrows over here, probably start all kinds of stories about cross atlantic flights and such. :lol:

[sugarzebra]

These are really nice Mitch...I'm glad you've found his favourite spot. My wife & found a Kingfisher a few weeks ago and although very skitterish, he seemed to have a bit of a route he would follow landing in the same three or four spots in about a 1/4 mile radius. Lots of BIF opportunities but all the perches were just too far away to get a decent shot. We'll keep trying though :) A really good Kingfisher shot seems to be a fairly elusive thing.

[canonloader]

Thanks Scott. I am so lucky to live in this area. While they spend our tax dollars like water, at least I benefit from it. You could never get to this place if it hadn't been built up with trails and pathways to get out in the swamps.

I've wanted to get back for some planned shots, but it's been really cloudy and rainy since the day after I shot these. Tomorrow is supposed to be all sunny though and I am going to try for some better shots in early sunlight.

I use my brothers bike to get out there. It's got baskets attached to carry all my gear, and takes about 15 minutes of easy peddaling to get there. Even better, there won't be more than 3 people pass by the whole time probably, [why I said wasted tax dollars]. :lol:

For these shots, I just set up tripod and Bigma right at the edge of the path, standing up and out in the open. Next time though, I will be taking a cushion and set up under some low branches of a tree with the tripod and camera down low. Maybe he will be more relaxed and if I'm lucky, the female will come by too.

What I really want to get though, is him diving in for fish and bringing one back out. I saw him do it, with a clear shot of the whole thing but was talking to some old bat that stopped and wanted to know what I was doing. Something else I won't have to deal with on a week day. LOL

[jorj7]

Nice series Mitch. It's always a thrill to get a Kingfisher, especially good shots of a
Kingfisher. But regarding your title, no shots of it diving in head first and coming up with
a fish... That's what Kingfishers do. Or at least a shot of their backside as they fly away as
you approach ;).

[canonloader]

HAHA, thanks George. Well, I was thinking of the sitting on wires they do a lot of too. I did see him dive for a fish, but he came up empty that time, or ate it as he came out of the water. Not sure, it all happened pretty fast. However, I wasn't prepared for it. Next time I will be though.

I'm trying to decide if it would be better to dial back on the zoom so as to get a bigger picture, then crop, or to try and track him going in, which I think will be impossible. I know I will be in 5 fps mode though and just keep my finger down. Oh, and spare batteries and CF cards. ;)

By the way, here is a link to a Kingfisher Slideshow (http://www.freeassociationblog.com/Slideshows/kingfisher/american_kingfisher.html) I put up with many more shots of this bird that I didn't post here.

[sugarzebra]

Thanks Scott. I am so lucky to live in this area. While they spend our tax dollars like water, at least I benefit from it. You could never get to this place if it hadn't been built up with trails and pathways to get out in the swamps.

I've wanted to get back for some planned shots, but it's been really cloudy and rainy since the day after I shot these. Tomorrow is supposed to be all sunny though and I am going to try for some better shots in early sunlight.

I use my brothers bike to get out there. It's got baskets attached to carry all my gear, and takes about 15 minutes of easy peddaling to get there. Even better, there won't be more than 3 people pass by the whole time probably, [why I said wasted tax dollars]. :lol:

For these shots, I just set up tripod and Bigma right at the edge of the path, standing up and out in the open. Next time though, I will be taking a cushion and set up under some low branches of a tree with the tripod and camera down low. Maybe he will be more relaxed and if I'm lucky, the female will come by too.

What I really want to get though, is him diving in for fish and bringing one back out. I saw him do it, with a clear shot of the whole thing but was talking to some old bat that stopped and wanted to know what I was doing. Something else I won't have to deal with on a week day. LOL

The Kingfisher we found was at the sewage lagoons in Bracebridge Ontario.....I guess that's where we invest tax dollars up here :) I hope you are able to get some diving shots when you are out tomorrow.

[canonloader]

Scott, I'm sure going to try for some dive shots. I saw him do it once and I think I can get shots of it happening. :)

[themtkid]

Very nice 4 and 5 are my favorite. Great job getting that close and they are very sharp

[canonloader]

Thanks Kid. I was happy with the sharpness, even with these large crops. It's the background in the perched shots that bothers me. Maybe I will try some lower f/stops to try for more blur next time. :)

[Booswalia]

Nice shots, Mitch. I've been trying for ages to get a Kingfisher and lll I can get is a swish flying away while laughing at me.

[canonloader]

Thanks Shirley, I know the feeling. I knew my luck had changed when I found this guy. It's always better to know where the guy lives than to depend on a lucky encounter. :)