Photographing a Kingfisher
Photographing a Kingfisher in the Highlands is nor straight forward as they are uncommon this far north in the UK. Locally odd birds occasionally turn up outside the breeding season. At this time of year they are attracted by the large shoals of young River Minnows that frequent the bay on the loch close to my home. Recently a bird turned up and was fishing the shallows. Owing to the low water level of the loch a large expanse of sand and gravel was exposed around the bay leaving nowhere much for the bird to perch close to the waters edge. I soon remedied that by digging in a suitable perch just out into the water. The kingfisher approved as it was already using the perch by the time I had made it back up to the house. Next morning I put up a hide close by. After spending a couple of hours in the hide the kingfisher, a female, alighted on the perch. Several times it flew up a few metres and hovered, head motionless for 10 or 15 seconds before diving down to catch a fish. This was plenty of time for the camera focus to lock on to the hovering bird and get the unexpected bonus of it in flight.
