Kingfishers

Tzetze

I've been thoroughly enjoying seeking out and getting close to these guys lately. I thought I'd share some of my pics.

Archeron

Beautiful pics.

boneless

Excellent shots !! You are not near Loughrea by any chance, are you?

Tzetze

boneless wrote: »

Excellent shots !! You are not near Loughrea by any chance, are you?

Thanks.
Shots were taken in South Co. Galway, not a million miles from Loughrea (without getting too specific).

boneless

I never seem to be able to get kingfishers to stay still long enough, the few time I do bring a camera .

Tzetze

It's certainly been a learning curve. They are a very shy bird alright, once they are aware of our presence, they don't hang around to see what we might be shooting with! I've managed to get to about 15 feet away from them using camo net and a fishing umbrella to make a ramshackle hide. Such a rewarding experience to get so close to a truly wild and stunningly beautiful creature.

It wasn't me!

Gorgeous shots. Only ever seen kingfishers once. Would love to see them again.

Connacht

Tzetze,
Great photos - would you mind telling us what equipment you use (camera, lens). Thanks a lot.

Tzetze

Thanks very much Connacht. Camera is a Canon 450D. Lens is a Sigma 70-300 APO DG. Got the lens for €180, delivered, on ebay. It's by no means a fast lens, which means I can only get decent results in brightly lit conditions (few and far between this summer).

The lens has been good enough to learn what I'm doing with, and now that I know I enjoy going after wildlife so much, I will invest in an 'L-range' Canon lens in the future.

Here's a couple more recent pics. I think there's some improvement on what's already been posted previously... (click on images for larger size)

Rainbowsend

Lovely shots, I think numbers are increasing there seems to be more
sightings, though I do think that if you are prepared to sit and wait in
an area where they have been seen you will see them, they are so quick
though, I have seen a few but it is down to luck, I could visit the same
spot for weeks on end and not get a sighting, then after not being there
for a month they would be there.......luck!

Birdnuts

Great Pics - Allways a thrill to spot these elusive birds:)

cuddlycavies

Brilliant photos. Especially the darker ones.

shawnee

Superb shots and thanks for telling us about equipment. I have purchased a nikon d80 and am considering which telephoto lens to buy.

Morganna

Absolutley brilliant pics love kingfishers thanks for sharing great pics

Dusty87

Lovely pics, iv yet to see one of these. Are they wide spread across ireland?

marlin vs

Very nice.

Tzetze

Dusty87 wrote: »

Are they wide spread across ireland?

Yes, according to the RSPB website, they are found throughout Ireland except for Western Connemara.



The map may not be 100% accurate, but I certainly didn't have any luck finding any West of Galway city. Although on Irish birding websites there have been reports of sightings in and around Galway city. Like I mentioned previously, all my sightings were SouthEast of the city.

Dusty87

They are a bird iv always wanted to see. Iv spent countless days fishing on rivers and canals, walking along rivers etc, and iv never seen one. I suppose they dont like to be seen. Did you have a hide set up 'waiting' for them so to speak?

Judgement Day

Dusty87 - you must be just very unlucky or noisy?

I've seen loads of them down the years - usually just a flash of blue and gold disappearing down a river or canal but the most recent encounter was very close and in an strange location. While waiting for an early morning bus in Enniscorthy, where the river is wide and fast flowing i.e. not a typical Kingfisher haunt, the said same bird came and landed about three feet from me on the manicured river bank. It remained looking at me for a matter of seconds but sadly I had no camera handy.

Dusty87

I dont know judgement day, more unlucky id say:). Il have to keep a better eye out for the blue and gold flash from now on.

Tzetze

Dusty87 wrote: »

They are a bird iv always wanted to see. Iv spent countless days fishing on rivers and canals, walking along rivers etc, and iv never seen one. I suppose they dont like to be seen. Did you have a hide set up 'waiting' for them so to speak?

You can increase your chances of spotting them quite easily. Find a slow moving spot in the river between 2 and 4 feet deep with plenty of small fish. Setup a stick for them to perch on, ideally you want the perch to be between 3 and 4 feet above the water surface. Give it a few days to a week for the birds to get accustomed to the new perch. Then come back and wait.

I use a hide (fairly ramshackle, but it works) to get within 3-4 metres of the perch for photographing, but it shouldn't be necessary to get a good view. Just make sure that you're fairly well camouflaged, and they can't make out that 'human-shape', and you should get a good view.

You might get lucky and see them within 10-20 minutes, or you may have to wait a few hours. Good luck!

Day Lewin

They are in fact pretty common but they are fast! You will need to keep your eyes sharpened...
Most any water that has fish in it will have kingfishers if there are appropriate conditions nearby for nesting: they like a bit of cover, scrub, trees etc.
Look down from bridges on the midland canals or rivers - there are plenty in Dublin too on the Dodder and Tolka.

berman

I see one quite regularly on the dodder - and it's a treat each time!

Dusty87

Judgement Day wrote: »

Dusty87 - you must be just very unlucky or noisy?

Well, finally got a quick glimpse of one on the river Brosna. I heard a bird tweet (or whatever, chirp), i turned around because i didn recognise the sound and just got a quick look as it flew up stream. That blue colour is so much nicer than in pics. Real shiney bright. Delighted now.

Tzetze

Dusty87 wrote: »

Well, finally got a quick glimpse of one on the river Brosna. I heard a bird tweet (or whatever, chirp), i turned around because i didn recognise the sound and just got a quick look as it flew up stream. That blue colour is so much nicer than in pics. Real shiney bright. Delighted now.

Now that you know they're there, set up a perch for them and you'll get some great views. Their call is really distinctive, isn't it? I've heard it described as being like the shrill of a car's brakes in the distance. A good description, I thought.

Dusty87

I dont know what id describe it as. Its ear piercing though. Not in a bad way if you know what i mean.