The tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher..........NOT the Beatrix Potter version!!

More of Mr Jeremy Fisher later......

Anyone who has followed my blogs this year, knows that the Kingfisher, is the bird that has been top of my list to photograph.  It is a bird that has eluded me for many years and although I have taken many distant shots, I have never had the time to concentrate solely on this stunning bird.

Photographing Kingfishers is not straightforward at the best of times, and as a 'schedule 1' (heavily protected) bird, there are many laws in place to ensure that they are not disturbed, especially around nest sites. It is important to be aware of legislation within your area, to protect yourself from litigation and more importantly protect the welfare of the birds.

My search started over 3 months ago, when I was offered the use of a private lake. There were no reports of Kingfishers on the lake, but I spent a couple of days there and found that a pair would visit the lake most days......but only in the very early morning, which was not ideal for light, or getting great shots!  However, over the next couple of weeks, I studied their behaviour and set up my hide in an area that would get me as close as possible to a perch that they sometimes used. Here is my favourite shot from that location:

06.00 hrs and the sun just rising......shot at just 1/80th sec to avoid high ISO

It soon became clear, that although I could get quite close to my target, the lighting situation (early morning and surrounded by overhanging trees) was not going to give me the ultimate shot that I wanted.  Fortunately, the owner of this lake, also owned another nearby, so the process started all over again.

At the next lake, a distant shot, but not what I wanted.

After a few days in the hide, I could confirm a visiting pair of Kingfishers and also study their favourite perches. As usual, these were either in areas of poor light, or simply not accessible. A few distant shots, were OK, but nothing special, so I decided to try to get the Kingfishers to come to me.  I got out the waders and positioned a couple of tree limbs in the lake, which I hoped that they might use. These were placed in an area that allowed me to sit in my hide just a few meters away, with full sunlight on the perches for most of the day......now, I just had to wait......and wait......and wait!      -      After a week of waiting, the Kingfishers continued to show up each day, but simply refused to use my super new perches.  

During this time, I had witnessed them using a boulder on the far side of the lake and whilst it was not ideal (shots in trees are nicer than on the ground), I decided to move my hide as close as I could get.  Over the coming days, they would occasionally use it and although my images were good, I was still after that elusive shot of a Kingfisher with a fish in its mouth!

Three days ago, I arrived at dawn as usual and set myself up for another long wait. Now although I spend around 5-6 hours a day in my hide, I am usually treated to something nearby to keep me interested and most days included sightings of a family of Coypu, who lived on the lake, along with the occasional Roe Deer visiting for a drink and even a Buzzard, who had taken up fishing for Crayfish....images later!

On this particular morning, there was no sign of the Kingfishers until almost midday and what happened next will live with me for the rest of my life........The tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher!....

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The Kingfisher spent around 5 minutes trying to swallow the frog, but it was just too big. Sadly, the poor frog 'croaked it', due to the bashing that it got and ended up, dumped in the lake.

I think it's fair to say, that I could sit in my hide for another 100 years and not experience that again!  Although Kingfishers do eat a wide range of prey, it is extremely rare to witness one catching a frog and even more rare to capture it with images.

This is why I spend so much of my time photographing our amazing wildlife!

Here are some of the other 'distractions', caught on camera, whilst waiting in my hide last week.

Buzzard hunting for Crayfish, is very rare

Coypu having a wash and brush up!

Roe Deer drinking from the lake