Photographing Kingfishers (1 Viewer)

As I have had quite a few e-mails asking questions re the kingfisher shots in the gallery, links to them below, here is a few notes on how they were taken.

Contrary to what most people might think Kingfishers are relatively easy to photograph. They are birds of habit, also they are territorial, so they will be in the same area most of the time, it just takes a bit of time spent observing a suitable stretch of river to find where they are.
They have favourite perches and will return to them regularly, also they will take to introduced perches quite quickly too, often you hear tales from anglers who have had one sit on their rod, this is the most useful aspect of the birds behaviour from a photographers standpoint.

I set up the hide first, then the following day placed two sticks at an appropriate distance to suit the lenses I planned to use, 600mm and 100-400mm zoom. I also put some groundbait and stones (for weight) in a peanut type mesh bag, this is on a string so I can refill it, and reposition it if necessary, this attracts small fish close to the perches and therefore ensures successful hunting for the Kingfisher, hopefully making it stay for long periods.

I find that most Kingfishers are quite jumpy and will fly off at the slightest movement you make, so it is important to pre-align the camera and not be tempted to move it if the bird does not alight where you want it to. Generally they will dive from one perch and then land on another, so just wait and it will sit where you want it. I also wear dark gloves so that my hand movement is not so visible to them, once you do spook them they can be wary of the hide and take a long time to return. Despite reacting to movements they do not seem to be bothered by (shutter) noise fortunately!

I should add that a hide is essential.

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/38078/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php?photo=38316

Hi Nigel,

Regarding photographing this superb bird, i can honestly say my experience of them, beginning of August this year was amazing.
I hadnt gone through the preparation you put into your shots, but i did wait about 4 hours in a hide. I was about to leave when i heard the piercing call of one. It was soon followed by a second bird. The rest is history. I had a fabulous time with the two. They stayed for around one and a half hours. Worth any amount of effort to capture shots of this majestic bird.

Thanks for listing the technique you used to capture the fine shots above.

Tom

Thanks for the tips Nigel, your results speak for themselves.

I have managed a couple of shots with the scope but each was just a question of good luck with the birds turning up in the vicinity of the hides I was in. I guess spending a bit of time sat in a hide (the big wooden ones) can pay off too - though I prefer your results to mine

I guess half the battle is finding the bird and fishing perch.

Nigel, I like the touch of using some fish bait. I haven't been using hides but my mate is building one now so I hope to shortly. I have also found that kingfishers are much more approachable in the rain (many birds are) and the light is nice and soft too. As they sit still for long periods , slow shutter speeds are not a problem. Thanks for info.Neil.

Good technique Nigel, thanks for the information - photos are just superb.

I agree with Neil, the ground bait is a top idea!
Nice post Nigel!

I saw several different postcards, each with a Kingfisher perching on a sign "no fishing". Now I know how easy they were done