Kingfisher

The kingfisher is always a rare treat to see, and I was lucky enough to get a sighting at lunchtime today. I was photographing some distant little grebes when a flash of colour on the far bank caught my eye. It was unmistakeable. No other bird is quite so brightly coloured, and sure enough a kingfisher had landed on a branch overhanging the water. And as a bonus it had caught a fish.

These shots are fairly hefty crops, but you should be able to make out the kingfisher, if not its lunch.

Standing out at the other end of the size and colour scale (i.e. large and white) is the little egret.

And as the day ended, the moon rose high against a rich blue sky.

Nature Blog Network
site stats
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Tags: , ,

This Post Has 15 Comments

  1. studio41

    8 Dec 2011

    last two photos are awesome! the second to last, great composition. I have never seen a little egret before!

    kingfisher's head is a great color!

  2. anonymous

    8 Dec 2011

    Anonymous writes:

    Wow, I love the colours of the Kingfisher! So different from the ones over here in Canada (blue and grey)…

    Marilyn

  3. gdare

    8 Dec 2011

    Beautiful bird, kingfisher. No wonder it has that name :up:

  4. Words

    8 Dec 2011

    Marilyn, ours are usually blue/red, but the colours vary a bit. Always very distinctive though.

  5. Words

    8 Dec 2011

    Darko, they are so brilliantly bright. Such a treat to see one, but I still want to get a good shot, nice and close. One day!

  6. Words

    8 Dec 2011

    Jill, I was really fortuante with the egret. It was late and it just hopped over the water to near where I was. They're usually very shy.

  7. cakkleberrylane

    9 Dec 2011

    I think we have the Canadian variety too. Mostly blue.

  8. studio41

    10 Dec 2011

    Originally posted by Words:

    I was really fortuante with the egret. It was late and it just hopped over the water to near where I was.

    :yes:

  9. Words

    10 Dec 2011

    Lois, I've been reading up a bit more about kingfishers. It seems the colours vary according to the angle you view them. So green/blue variations may be partly down to that.

  10. serola

    10 Dec 2011

    The second egret shot is the best :wizard:

  11. Words

    11 Dec 2011

    Sami, I agree. I was very happy with that one.

  12. SittingFox

    11 Dec 2011

    Wow, great bird to see! I have the opposite problem: I was standing by the river waiting for someone the other day when I had three kingfisher sightings. And no camera 😥 Of course, I've been up there since with the camera…and have seen no kingfishers… :rolleyes:

  13. Words

    13 Dec 2011

    Adele, three sightings and no camera! That's shocking! I'm sure they'll be back though. This was the first time I'd seen a kingfisher at this location, but I don't get there often enough (or for long enough) to sit in wait.

  14. Words

    13 Dec 2011

    Erwin, thanks!

  15. Wulpen

    19 Oct 2012

    Beautiful

Comments are closed.

Close Menu