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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Watching kingfishers (1 Viewer)

N

Nature__lover

Well-known member
Hi I know a stream where Kingfishers are (well, I saw a glimpse of one there today)

I'm thinking of going out early in the morning to try and see them and if I got really lucky take some photos.

Anyone got any tips on how to watch kingfishers without disturbing them?
and any tips on how to get photos?
 
Nature__lover said:
Hi I know a stream where Kingfishers are (well, I saw a glimpse of one there today)

I'm thinking of going out early in the morning to try and see them and if I got really lucky take some photos.

Anyone got any tips on how to watch kingfishers without disturbing them?
and any tips on how to get photos?
Click to expand...

The best way is to creep out early in the morning (about 5.00 am), get into the stream and lie very still under the water. You might find a piece of rubber tube useful for breathing, or you can cut a piece of hollow reed. When you see the kingfisher coming, make a noise like a small fish and, with luck, he'll dart into the water right above you. You'll need a waterproof camera of course, or you could just put your mobile phone in a plastic bag.

Best of luck!
 
I used to watch a Kingfisher feeding a few miles from where I live. The first times I saw it was just the odd fleeting glimpse as it shot by. Over time I found where it used to settle on a branch over a shallow part of the river. With time and patience I eventually got to watch it dive into the river and return to the the branch with a fish, which became its meal after banging it to stun it a few times. It is something you will never ever forget.

My advice would be to spend more time there and try to narrow down where it will settle. Then when you are sure, get yourself nice and comfy and wait quietly, try to wear clothing that is not prone to rustling and that is not brightly coloured.

As to taking photo's I am sure someone else will come along and give you some great advice.

Best of luck to you, Deano
 
Nature__Lover,
I forgot to put that I did not use a hide or settle behind a bush or tree. I just sat on a small folding stool part way down a river embankment ... very, very still.
 
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Nice to hear that I won't have to dress up in camoflage and sit in a hide for several hours.

I'm going early in the morning. I'll find a nice spot to sit and see what I see. Even if you don't see kingfishers, there is plenty of other birds around that bathe in the stream.
Someone I know has seen grey wagtails there but I am yet to see one.

I'll post tomorrow to tell everyone how I got on.
 
no kingfishers today. (slept in a bit late to see them, really)
but saw lots of birds including a very good view of a nuthatch bathing. (second time ive ever seen a nuthatch)
 
I wouldn't worry too much about getting up at the crack of dawn to try to see them as I've watched kingfishers at all hours - early morning, midday, afternoon. :king: It took me nearly 6 years as a 'proper' birder before I saw my first in 1992 tho' and I realised why I'd been missing them in places where they were supposed to be common (Jesmond Dene in the winter months for starters) - I didn't know their call! :smoke: Once I learnt their high-pitched peeping they make AND realised that they fly low over the surface of the water I saw them all the time :t:

Keep at it - you'll catch up with them soon enough :king:

And failing my suggestions.....you could always do as Apodemus says and don a snorkel and wetsuit :-O ;)
 
Down the Trent where I am, my partner and I have spent the last 6 years watching our resident pair, and their offspring. No special preparation, just a stroll down the mile stretch with eyes open (my hearing is awful!). I've got to the stage where I can spot them from a distance now.

Best view involved sitting on fold up chairs on a freezing November morning, when the female dived from rather higher than expected, pulled out a fish, and proceeded to batter it against the perch before eating it!
 
thanks for your comments.
the most annoying thing is when it gets past about 8.00am there is an army of noisy dog walkers ! (dnt get me wrong, i love dogs) but it shatters my chances of seeing a KF.
 
Nature__lover said:
thanks for your comments.
the most annoying thing is when it gets past about 8.00am there is an army of noisy dog walkers ! (dnt get me wrong, i love dogs) but it shatters my chances of seeing a KF.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't affect the Kingfishers if they are resident birds as they soon get used to all the regular 'traffic'. I saw two birds this morning, neither of which paid any attention to my rather hyperactive terrier.
 
Apodemus said:
OK.
Click to expand...

Apodemus said:
Do you want to hear it again?
Click to expand...

This made me laugh.

I've seen kingfishers on two occasions, both quite by accident. One was skimming a pond where I walk on my breaks at work (lots of birds there throughout the year) and the other was perched on a telephone wire overlooking a drainage ditch beside a heavily traveled road. That one caught me off guard for sure. I consider myself pretty lucky.
 
Apodemus said:
The best way is to creep out early in the morning (about 5.00 am), get into the stream and lie very still under the water. You might find a piece of rubber tube useful for breathing, or you can cut a piece of hollow reed. When you see the kingfisher coming, make a noise like a small fish and, with luck, he'll dart into the water right above you. You'll need a waterproof camera of course, or you could just put your mobile phone in a plastic bag.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

I got a big laugh out of your response. Thanks. I needed that.
 
I once saw something on TV where the presenter pushed a stick into the riverbed near a pool with small fish in, then sat back on the bank, the kingfisher arrived 30 mins later to fish by perching on the stick.
 
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