Capturing kingfishers? How do you do it?

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squizza

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hi guys

I give up! I need the advice of an expert or two. There are some lakes near me where kingfishers are, however, I saw them last year, but not this year so far. I sit in hides as quiet as a mouse, don't wear bright clothing, don't disturb anything, yet they just won't come near!!! I hear their calls but unlike others at the lake, I don't see them. What am I doing wrong????

How do many of you get your kingfisher shots? I guess I'm asking for you to give your secrets away - hey we're all friends here! What tips or tricks will help me get that picture I've been longing for?

Kind regards and thanks in advance


Sarah
 
Sarah, ive only tried it twice myself the first time i got nothing, the second time i managed a few shots i found that i looked for where they were most of the time then sat down on the river bank with camo gear on and sat near a perch they used and waited. I know a few people who set up a hide and perch and leave thenm there for months going back and sit for hours at a time just waiting for the kf to land on the perch. :thumbs:
 
Sarah, I just wanted to say I sympathise with you, I'm not lucky enough to know were they are round me. At least you know where they are - its just a matter of time! ;)

Just sit tight... your day will come!!!! v
 
Sarah, the pond where I get my kingfisher shots has a hide and 3 screens. One of the screens is about 5 feet from a post in the water and I've cut a hole near the bottom of the screen to get my camera as close to the kingy's eye level as possible. I've also cut a hole for myself near the top so I can see the post and then use a cable release.
Although I'm only a few feet away they can't see me but the shutter noise gets their attention which ensures lots of eye contact like these ones I got this morning.
I'm also lucky it's a very small pond so no matter where I sit my 120-400 gives me enough reach.
I set up some shots a couple of weeks ago where I got a kingfisher on a No Fishing sign I made. I sat about 15 feet away and got some shots within about 10 minutes and I wasn't even in a hide or behind a screen. I wore a camouflage poncho. They can be had for around a fiver on Ebay so that might be an idea to try.

Good luck,
Paul
 
Not meaning to hijack the thread, but is there a particular height they seem to like to perch at?

As a spur of the moment thing yesterday I headed down to the river where some guy told me earlier in the summer he'd seen some and, despite having no proper hide (I set myself up in some long grass) and wearing a bright t-shirt, within 20 minutes I'd seen one, and in the hour I stayed there I'd seen 3 or 4 (I assume the same bird going backwards and forwards). I had my camera pointed at a small branch sticking out the river, the end of which was maybe a foot above the surface of the water - is this going to be too low for one to land on?
 
Lackford lakes?
Time. Or Luck!

It took me three years to get a kingfisher shot that I was happy with, and then I got 500 in three trips! (To Lackford.) I remember spending all day in a hide there with Pragmatist and Bionic sherpa, and not one of us got a single shot ... The next trip there I filled an eight gig card before the birds moved away! The first couple of trips this year produced nothing, the third trip one bird showed for 32 seconds, the fourth trip two birds showed for over an hour (both juveniles.) The trip after that - nothing. I may head out that way tomorrow if the weather is reasonable.
 
Also, at Lackford the birds are generally tolerant of talking and camera shutters ... But movement or vibrations/heavy footfalls in the hide can scare them.
 
Thanks everybody for replying so quickly and for all advice given :)

Yes, Lackford Lakes - although I know where some more are closer to my house but have no idea how to capture them?
 
Some of the old boys at Strumpshaw have shown me that you do not have to have camo gear/hides etc. to get the shots: Kingfishers will investigate new perches in their territory/flight path, and as long as you are STILL and are not perceived as a threat they will use them. For how long depends on if there is food there for them.
 
Can't offer any more than sympathy - I too have spent hours in the hides at Lackford from early morning to evening but have still to have one stop for me to photograph it :bang: :bang: :bang:
 
I can only offer advice on birds that live,breed and eat on rivers, though I suppose some things apply to all.

I spent a long time watching these birds, learning their habits and behaviour.I spent as much time trying to photograph them without using a hide,failing miserably, though I know it could be done as I had one land about 3 feet from me as I was checking a mink cage on the river. The water level plays a massive role in where they fish, I suppose it could be the same for stillwater birds,I honestly don`t know.

So how did I succeed in the end? I placed one hide on the beck setting up a perch, I realised that I had not done my homework correctly as I needed flash to get anything of any worth. I`m not keen on using flash but now accept that it has its place. (But it is opposite a badger sett and I kinda hoped to kill two birds with one stone,not literally.)

These were from that hide, I particularly like the first two as they show the bird on a river stone rather than a manmade perch.


Kingfisheroncobble.jpg



Kingfisher4.jpg


But I had to use flash to get these.I have limited knowledge of flash and didn`t really like the results I was getting.


Kingfisher3.jpg



So I decided to move the hide further upstream where the foliage was less dense. I set up a perch that worked ok.


Kingfisher8.jpg



But I realised that I had set the perch up too far away for general lenses. I have a Sigma 3-800 and kinda just set it up for that. I set another perch up that I measured for a 400mm lens, within a day or two, they were using it.


Kingfisher14.jpg



As too how high they should be? Well, they don`t need to be too high......:)


Lowdown.jpg


The three I have setup are about 5,3 and 2 feet above water level. The 5 foot one gives me eye level with the birds.They have got used to the hide and the shutter going off, but any movement and they are gone. I hang scrim netting inside the hide and poke my lens through that,I also wear face and hand cover.The whiteness of moving hands or faces does spook them.

Hope that helps a bit.

Edit to add...........They do fish from the cobbles in the beck at times,so perches are not always necessary, superb to watch them hopping up off the stones and then diving in.
 
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It might be a good idea to get away from a fixed reserve Sarah, and start pushing to find your own little spots. They do get around down there.. I have repeatedly seen kingfishers pass Mildenhall Stadium - a good half a mile from the nearest river or lake!! They seem to use the drainage ditches alongside the road and fields :)

In fact, I have a shot with a barn owl and a kingfisher in the frame from that locality! (Granted, it's wide, so they're about 2 pixels tall each.. but still counts :p) Drainage ditches (as an example of course... same applies to other rivers, small ponds etc) would give you a much better chance of catches them because nobody else will be in them.. you can set up a hide and perch to suit, and the birds can only go backwards and forwards :)
 
Fracster, that's the best and most detailed reply I've seen to a question that seems to get asked every few months or so on TP. Thanks. :thumbs:
 
SuperAP said:
Fracster, that's the best and most detailed reply I've seen to a question that seems to get asked every few months or so on TP. Thanks. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Very kind of you to say so, it did take me a long time to get it right, but the product is worth it.
 
Thank you guys, and Fracster, thank you for that detailed reply. I'm sorry I forgot to thank you sooner. :shake:
 
Not a problem Sarah and good luck with your quest...:)
 
I can recommend Charlie Hamilton James book. It shows the unbelievable lengths he goes to to capture his kingfisher images. He uses hides, multiple flash setups and a container ( an old bath if I remember correctly) to hold minows that he's caught. It seems once the birds have found it they will keep coming back. I live in the lea valley area and have spent weeks trying to track and map there habits(in fact I'm doing it now) but my images are pitiful and find it difficult to get close enough. Think my fieldcraft isnt good enough yet..
 
I can't give you any adivce, but wish you the best of luck, I love these birds so much...
 
There's an excellent piece by someone called 'ijsvogel' on a Sony DSLR forum that goes into his 'secrets' to how he gets his shots.

His shots of Kingfisher are the best I've seen anywhere.
 
At the risk of offending nature lovers, if you know a place where kingfisher's congregate then how about hammering a stake / fence post into the water that will act as a perch near your hide?
 
razor777 said:
At the risk of offending nature lovers, if you know a place where kingfisher's congregate then how about hammering a stake / fence post into the water that will act as a perch near your hide?
Click to expand...

No offence taken, that is exactly what I do,knock post in and nail a natural looking perch to it, it still takes time to get to understand them though...........:thumbs:


Getting them on the river cobbles is a whole different ball game though.
 
pmaccyd said:
I can recommend Charlie Hamilton James book. It shows the unbelievable lengths he goes to to capture his kingfisher images. He uses hides, multiple flash setups and a container ( an old bath if I remember correctly) to hold minows that he's caught. It seems once the birds have found it they will keep coming back. I live in the lea valley area and have spent weeks trying to track and map there habits(in fact I'm doing it now) but my images are pitiful and find it difficult to get close enough. Think my fieldcraft isnt good enough yet..
Click to expand...


Probably helps Charlie having a river in his "garden" :lol:

The biggest problem I have tracking anything is time - I just don't have enough of it. What works for a wealthy individual with a lot of spare time to find subjects, plan their composition and with access to land to put a permanent hide where it won't get nicked or vandalised doesn't really work for mortgage slaves in a suburban semi who spend November - April in "weekend only togging" hell.
 
pmaccyd said:
I can recommend Charlie Hamilton James book. It shows the unbelievable lengths he goes to to capture his kingfisher images. He uses hides, multiple flash setups and a container ( an old bath if I remember correctly) to hold minows that he's caught. It seems once the birds have found it they will keep coming back. I live in the lea valley area and have spent weeks trying to track and map there habits(in fact I'm doing it now) but my images are pitiful and find it difficult to get close enough. Think my fieldcraft isnt good enough yet..
Click to expand...

Haklycon river diaries - married to Phillipa Forester. There was an interesting bit on there where he showed the bath/sink setup with minnows
 
I think you have to find kingfisher on a remote stream with no/very little public access, so you can set up your shoot knowing your site is not going to be disturbed. I've tried it in more public areas but my temporary hides get kicked over and in one case lived in by a East Europeans chap...
 
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