kingfisher sightings

heffsarmy

I want to photography the kingfisher bird, just wondering has anyone seen any sightings of the bird around dublin,kildare, wicklow area. The last one I seen was at cartoon house golf club.

ShayHT

I occassionally see one at Donnybrook dart station
(not on the reserve side but the other side with the shoppin trolly pond!)

heffsarmy wrote:

I want to photography the kingfisher bird, just wondering has anyone seen any sightings of the bird around dublin,kildare, wicklow area. The last one I seen was at cartoon house golf club.

heffsarmy

Thanks ShayHT, is the area accessible??

dubwhite

heffsarmy wrote:

Thanks ShayHT, is the area accessible??

There is no Dart station in Donnybrook... I think he might mean Ballsbridge.

ShayHT

Yeah, theres a little park beside the pond. Theres parking at the dart station, but probably only spaces there at weekend. There should be parking nearby though...

The reserve also has good access, theres a walkway thing going all down one side, space for tripod.... And if you're not lucky to spot the KF, theres always plenty of herons, sandpipers, etc. and last week loads of canadian geese - not sure if they still there.

I should really go there with my camera and not just notice these things from the dart!

ShayHT

ooops, meant Botterstown! Thanks dubwhite!

dubwhite wrote:

There is no Dart station in Donnybrook... I think he might mean Ballsbridge.

heffsarmy

niceone just seen the post booterstown station, the swamp land I'll have a stroll out there the weekend thanks

Alun

I'm confused now. There isn't a Ballsbridge Dart station on any map I've seen? Do you maybe mean Booterstown, where the 'salt marsh' nature reserve is? Or the one before that (Blackrock?) where I seem to remember there's a park with a pond like you describe?

Anyway, I always thought kingfishers liked clean running water, and lots of peace and quiet.

dubwhite

Alun wrote:

I'm confused now. There isn't a Ballsbridge Dart station on any map I've seen? Do you maybe mean Booterstown, where the 'salt marsh' nature reserve is? Or the one before that (Blackrock?) where I seem to remember there's a park with a pond like you describe?

I don't use the Dart myself, so I'm not sure of the station names. I think the main station in Ballsbridge is Lansdowne. I'm guessing this pond is further out towards Blackrock somewhere all right.

heffsarmy

I just done a quick search and its booterstown dart station there have been sightings of a kingfisher this year here, hopefully he'll be there this weekend.

http://www.birdweb.net/booterstown.html

dalk

Good luck with the shoot. They are difficult to spot. Usually a flash of green and they are gone. :eek:

From my occasional bird watching when i was younger, they have favorite perches overlooking the river, that they often return to. Identify a perch and hope for the best.

Alun

Yeah, I've only ever seen one, and that was on a small secluded river in the south west of England while I was sitting on the bank quietly having my lunch while out on a walk. By the time I got the camera out he'd flown off I'm surprised a kingfisher would frequent the Booterstown salt marsh, to be honest. I'd have thought it was too busy and noisy.

boneless

Booterstown marsh is probably your best bet all right. There is kingfisher activity on the Liffey at the Memorial Park at Islandbridge too, but the river is wider here so less chance of catching one on the roost/perch.

I've also seen them in Donadea Forest Park in Kildare and on the Rye Water at Leixlip.

During the winter they tend to be more coastal in concentration... they will be starting to head up rivers about now or in the next two weeks.

If you want you can PM me and I'll give you more info.

Good spotting...

andy1249

Not sure what time of year they are to be expected but they can be seen around the river at the back of the intel plant on kellystown lane , there is a wood there and a river and public walking access , you may want to consider some kind of basic hide or something if you want to catch a kingfisher , they are shy at the best of times , there are some fantastic pictures of the bird taken at same river by some members of the local photo club.

heffsarmy

Lads thanks for all the replies, really helpful but the one river that I keep on hearing about is the river Rye, I have seen one on the river myself which flows through cartoon house golf club, this is also the same river at the back off intel, I'll ramble around there the weekend, I'm headin out too booterstown today at lunch hour see if I get lucky. I'll let you know how I get on.

solus

Theres a kingfisher thats always down by the dodder.. in rathgar... by the park. I spent weeks trying to photograph him... i failed.. v difficult..
The fishermen that hang out down there are v helpful and will tell you when he is about..good luck with it.. its v trying

ShayHT

If you've loads of money and are a golfer, Druids Geln golf club (Kilcoole), actually have a kingfisher sanctuary in the banks of the river running along one of the holes.

Unfortunately, i neither have money or play golf so have never actually seen it!

heffsarmy

I'll try my best in the next few weeks to get a good shot, I'll have to get my self some sort of hide, to get anyway close...I think this shot of a kingfisher is excellent it was shot with a canon 300d + canon 100-400mm L zoom lens, he was fairly close as it was shot at 300mm.

Valentia

I took a few pictures of a Kingfisher on the Boyne in Trim last year. The pic was taken through what was then my office window. They are really hard to capture or spot. people have told me that there are a few in the area but I have rarely seen them.

You can see some photos here and here.

heffsarmy

Great shots valentia, the first shot is excellent...Hopefully I'll capture a shot like this.

boneless

solus wrote:

Theres a kingfisher thats always down by the dodder.. in rathgar... by the park. I spent weeks trying to photograph him... i failed.. v difficult..
The fishermen that hang out down there are v helpful and will tell you when he is about..good luck with it.. its v trying

I forgot about here; Bushy Park is another good spot. Go out the back gate onto the Dodder!! I used to go on the 'hop' from school to see them there!!:)

Scotty #

Good Luck Heff!! You'll need it. Kingfishers are probably the most shy bird on this island. If I were you I'd wait a few weeks til the mornings are brighter. Birds are more active in the mornings. Also nesting season is coming up which will have them more active also. I'd have a look outside the city, maybe along one of the canals or something. Kingfishers are not that rare but are seldom seen because of their shyness. Usually you just see a flash of their backs as they are flying away from you. But if you pick the right spot and stay very quiet you should get the shot your looking for, but let them come to you. Don't go walking along the water way thinking you'll come across one and there's your shot. Not a hope. As Valentia said, she saw them out a window, with the reflection on the glass. The kingfisher probably was not aware of her. Pick a quiet spot where you can see a good stretch of the river, like a bend in the river. Stay silent. and most of all be patient.

Valentia

As Valentia said, she saw them out a window

Scotty, there is nothing beta about my maleness. ;)Wonder why you thought I was female :eek:

Scotty #

Valentia wrote:

Scotty, there is nothing beta about my maleness. ;)Wonder why you thought I was female :eek:

mmmm so do I.

heffsarmy

Looks like it will be tougher than I thought, was out in booterstown yesterday at 8.30am, for 3 hours, did'nt see much but got some good shots of a herrin bird...I was out in rogerstown yesterday also no joy out there...I think your right scotty in what you say, but I would like to have an idea that they are in the area, then setup a hide and wait. I'll keep on trying till I get a shot, hopefully...