Having gone on and on yesterday about whether I consider myself a photographer.......It's just a word of course....... I take pictures when I can so some would give me that tag, surely this is an insult to all those professionals out there. However from time to time I like to look back at the pictures that I have taken. Some of my favourites have been Kingfishers, who doesn't love this family of birds. I would like to photograph as many species of Kingfisher as I can, they are all beautiful and photogenic. I can remember the instant that I took all these photographs, one of the attractions of getting some good images. I hope you enjoy comparing the different birds.
On the nearby brook, Kingfishers breed and it is a relatively easy job with forethought, planning and patience to get a few nice pictures and to watch them at close quarters. This is a female, last winters resident. This year the nest failed having been flooded out at the crucial moment on two different occasions.
This is the territory holder from the previous winter, a lovely confiding individual who I watched for countless hours. Sticklebacks made up most of his prey but he fed on Minnows as well as Bullheads, Loach and a Newt!
You've got to love a Kingfisher.
This a Forest Kingfisher - Todiramphus macleayii, what a glorious name, the second scientific name referes to the man who named it, Scotish scientist Macleay. The shot was taken on the grave of a 2nd World War Soldier who's remains are in Townsville Cemetary, Queensland, Australia. I visited there in May 2011. A species that feeds on a variety of prey, reptiles and insects as well as fish. I saw them on several ocassions in coastal/beach locations.
This is a Sacred Kingfisher - Todyramphus sanctus, what a lovely name as well, but an equally lovely bird, again photographed in Townsville Australia. This species feeds well away from water and takes small reptiles and insects, this one was photographed in the garden of the house that we stayed in for the whole of May 2011.
A Belted Kingfisher - Meagaceryle alcyon photographed in a carpark in the Everglades, Florida USA. This species is a large Kingfisher in comparison to the previous ones, about the size of a Blackbird. They do feed in the same manner as the species that we are familiar with in he UK but my experience suggests that they are more likely to hover above water as they search for prey.
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