Kingfisher behaviour resources

maninsuitcase

maninsuitcase

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One of my goals for the year is to get at least 1 shot of a kingfisher. Unfortunately I won't be able to start until April due to medical reasons but I'd like to use the 3 months before that to do some research.

Can anyone suggest some good resources on behaviour and information that will help me locate and photograph a Kingfisher.

I have 2-3 possible sites where they are occasionally reported but I have only visited 1 previously and never seen one.

I found a book on Amazon called "Kingfishers" by David Chandler. I have read the (very short) Kindle sample and it seems well written, does anyone else have any experience of this book.

I've also looked at Charlie Hamilton James' book but from a skim of the description is seems more of a diary with images rather than a a guide to their behaviour that will help with my goal.
 
theres only one problem, the time you are deciding , to take photos....its nesting time, so unless you get a licence, to take photos, then you are knackered :)...or you may be lucky to find a bird that fishes far away from its nest-site. (public bird hide, on nature reserve) then that would be ok...good luck..mark.
 
Be prepared to spend many hours sitting and waiting, reading books won't really help because they won't relate to your patch of water/birds.
It also depends on how close you live to a likely spot for them and if a slow moving river is close by then start with asking the local fishermen about sightings.
Having a good network of contacts can save a lot of time when your trying to watch or photograph wildlife.
Mark is right about the legal side of things with nest sights but they are a schedule 1 bird all year round and must not be disturbed, that is a can of worms as you will see many shots on here by people who don't have a licence but do not disturb the birds either so I'm on the fence with that side of things.
If you just want photos then the easy way out is to go on a workshop and pay :shrug:
 
Its more April and after not only in April, so if April is a problem I can wait. But this sort of highlights why I want to read up.

I am aware of the schedule 1 thing and you're not allowed within a radius of the nest when theres chicks. I wouldn't dream of disturbing them as I know last year was a tough one and the numbers will probably be down because of this.

I am lucky to have a river about 400m from my house and it winds around the area a lot so there's a fair amount of variance. I know of 2 largeish areas people have seen them, but if for example they preferred shady areas to feed or what have you then I could focus my attention better rather than each 0.5-1 mile stretch.

While I could pay for a workshop it feels like cheating, I'm as much interested in finding them and watching them as I am just getting a single shot, or ideally working on a portfolio.

Once I find a site I will contact Natural England for better info on what I can and can't do before I would require a license that I probably wouldn't even try and get.
 
Stuart M said:
You will find some extremely useful information on the legalities of photographing Kingfishers in their natural habitat at http://www.jeffharrisonphotography.co.uk/schedule-1-licensing.

I understand that the penalties for not complying with the legislation and getting caught are quite severe.
Click to expand...

That is some great information in that link. The article brings up a good point that digital photography has lead to more to amateur photographers wanting to get the "shot". Looking to photograph kingfishers is a mine field, you can't say whether you are close to a nest or not. There are a few public hides where you can photograph kingfishers, rye meads is one such site. You are not close but a guy with a 500/600mm lens and teleconverter got some good images.

I wish there was an unwritten rule similar to not passing off captive animals as wild with schedule 1 species. It would great if everyone stated whether a licence was used to take an image of schedule 1 species. it would deter others from trying to get images that they can't legally get and stop unnecessary disturb to the birds.
 
nothing beats local knowledge,look for local bird blogs.

you can be lucky,but you can also just wait and wait,i spent 3 years looking for mine :gag:

when you find a area they are seen in you want a perch over or in water they can use to look around from.

they prefer still water as then they can see the fish beter


good luck :)
 
I sat for 60 hours in a private hide, and up 20 hours in my own hide before I got my first images of kingfishers, Im watching another area now, hopefully to get some images..I have added some suitable posts, and cleared a space for my hide so that it is right for backdrop, best for sun etc..before any oohs and arrhs of people who are not altogether au-fait with sced 1 laws, it isnt a nesting site..
Hope you get the images matie, its a bird I never tire of getting images of..:thumbs:
 
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as for the legal,i went out sat in the grass in a area i had never been to before.

a Kingfisher came along and sat on the branch in front of me i photographed from where i was when he landed.

he flew of after catching 2/3 fish.

i am pretty sure i didnt break any laws

then again i wouldnt approach any nest of any bird :nono:
 
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Thanks for everyone's input. I think I will get the book I liked to, and try investigate more about local sightings.

Seems one is showing very well at the moment but I am not able to get there until my driving license is returned (which is probably in April).

I agree the legalities of schedule 1 birds is a minefield and it's not helped when some amazing shots are taken with a license but not documented meaning people will try emulate with no knowledge a license is even required. I am sure many would leave alone if they knew a license was required.
 
maninsuitcase said:
I agree the legalities of schedule 1 birds is a minefield and it's not helped when some amazing shots are taken with a license but not documented meaning people will try emulate with no knowledge a license is even required. I am sure many would leave alone if they knew a license was required.
Click to expand...

As with every other criminal offence ... ignorance of the law would not be accepted as an excuse.
 
Stuart M said:
As with every other criminal offence ... ignorance of the law would not be accepted as an excuse.
Click to expand...

That's not what I was saying though. The only reason I know schedule 1 even exists is this sub forum. I would suggest many photographers don't know either because its not a commonly known thing. And because no one puts "Taken by Schedule 1 license holder, please don't try to recreate or you are liable to prosecution." or something in the caption, people will go out and try to take the images and break a law they don't know exists.

While they can still be prosecuted, I would say getting the knowledge of the law out there to prevent it in the 1st place is a better thing than punishing those who break a law they knew nothing of.
 
Stuart M said:
As with every other criminal offence ... ignorance of the law would not be accepted as an excuse.
Click to expand...

Seems to work alright for a small minority of gamekeepers. Or is that just ignoring the law?


Being serious, it is NOT illegal to take a picture of a schedule 1 bird during season. It IS illegal to disturb a schedule 1 bird at or near (whatever "near" might be perceived as) the nest site or its' dependent young REGARDLESS of whether you have the license from NE for photographic purposes!

Anyway, find where the Kingfisher hunts away from the nest and it isn't a problem. Go near the nest and you open yourself to the possibility of prosecution should it be proved you have disturbed the bird. The key to photographing ANY animal is understanding it's behaviour first. Otherwise, you can't possibly know how to avoid disturbing it! Kingfishers are more readily alarmed by different senses to owls, for example. You'll also understand it's likely movements (as well as possible, anyway!) and hopefully get better shots out of it.

Then again, some nature reserves have hides bang opposite an artificial nest bank. Go figure.
 
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