Kingfishers are hard enough to capture while perched but photographing them well in flight increases the degree of difficulty by several orders of magnitude.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Two days ago in the mountains this male Belted Kingfisher landed in a tree too far away from me for high quality photos while he was perched but I had at least some hope of getting reasonably good takeoff or flight shots. So I positioned the bird in my viewfinder in such a way that I thought I might have a chance to keep him in frame when he launched and waited. And waited. And waited some more.
Folks who aren’t bird photographers probably don’t understand how hard this waiting game is. Kingfishers are very fast so you have to be both quick on the trigger and lucky to keep the bird in the frame because they can take off in any direction. It’s a tense situation and you can’t take your eye off the viewfinder for even an instant because if you do that ALWAYS seems to be when the bird chooses to take off. And if you manage to keep the bird in frame you also have to hope to get lucky with a pleasing flight posture, good light on the bird, no branches or twigs in front of the bird, light on the face and a catch light in the eye. And above all the bird needs to be sharp. The list of things that can go wrong is endless and nearly always one or more of them does.
I waited with my eye glued to the viewfinder for what seemed like an eternity but 13 tense minutes later the kingfisher finally launched. This is the best shot I managed to get but I have mixed feelings about it. The kingfisher is mostly clear of the branches, he’s almost “sharp enough”, I have light on his face and a catchlight and I have enough room in the frame for a composition that works. But I think his flight posture is a little….. weird. And I’m not very fond of his right wing position. I keep thinking he looks a little bit like a manta ray flying through the air.
So the next day (yesterday) I want back to the same spot and tried again.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This time the wait for takeoff wasn’t quite as long but it was plenty long enough. What I like best about this shot is the good look at the colors and patterns of his entire dorsal surface. But the twigs and branches in the background are distractingly busy and the real image-killer for me is the fact that there’s no light on his face and I didn’t get a catch light in his eye.
So it goes with kingfisher photography. I’ll keep trying. Perched or in flight kingfishers are notoriously challenging subjects so knowing the high degree of difficulty is the only thing that assuages my slightly bruised bird photographer’s ego.
Ron
Notes:
- In case you’re wondering, even though both shots were taken at the same spot on successive days the kingfishers in these photos are two different birds. Among other things notice the mostly missing tail feather in the first bird that isn’t missing in the second one.
- On my way to this location yesterday morning I passed a road-killed black bear very close to me on I-80 in Parley’s Canyon with two cops still standing next to it. The accident involved several vehicles and at least one person was injured. Not a way I wanted to begin the morning…
The second shot is nice!
Bears are common in Lambs Canyon. I think that stretch of I-80 needs at least 2 more safe over or under passes for wildlife.
Yup, it was real close to Lamb’s Canyon too.
Love both shots. And your at least partial triumph over the tricky little beasts. I would be claiming complete success, but the perfectionist in you can’t do that I know.
The posture in the first shot reminds me (yet again) how flexible birds are. Mind you, I would love to see manta rays too.
Thank you, EC. These days flexibility is largely a lost ability for me too.
You have to come visit me then EC, we have a shark and ray (not Mantas, though) touch tank at our aquarium! 😉
Love the kingfisher ❗️I’ve only been lucky enough to have seen one once. For one to sit for 13 minutes…. that’s an eternity.
Diana, it is an eternity when you’re so tense and have to concentrate so much.
Great captures, Ron.
Question: in the first photo are those tiny serrations in his bill or perhaps an artifact of pixelation? Or just my imagination….
Lyle, I’m not sure what you’re referring to but if it’s the white areas of the bill it’s probably a result of sharpening during processing. I used slightly more sharpening than I usually do because the bird is a little soft and sharpening can do that, especially to narrow whites.
I think it might be due more to zooming in on my iPhone. It pretty much disappears on the Mac.
Yup, zooming will do pretty much the same thing.
The angle of the primaries in the first shot creates a fabulous Mohawk effect that makes me smile.
As to the second shot, I know how easy it would be to photoshop in a catch light. The fact that you didn’t is one of the many reasons I have so much respect for you as a photographer and as a person. Thanks for doing what you do!
I appreciate that, Robyn. Yes, many folks would add a catch light out of ignorance of how stupid and dishonest it makes them look. A catch light when there’s good light on most of the bird but the face and eye are in deep shade looks terribly unnatural and faked because it just wouldn’t happen.
Love that second photo…as you said the detail of the feathers is superb. I’ve played the waiting game with these birds. After a while your eye begins to water and burn… and then he comes flying in quickly from a different vantage point cackling that annoying chatter at you! ‘Gottcha!’ 😫 They are smart! For the life of me I can’t imagine baiting one of these birds. I’ll have to go back over your posts to see what you have said about that.
‘Gottcha” – yep, your translation of kingfisher-speak is spot on, Kathy.
In a private email Everett asked me to explain a little about their baiting methods. Following is what I told him:
“Their list of tricks is endless, too many to mention most of them.
One of their favorite tricks is to put fish in bottles with enough air in them to make the bottles slightly buoyant and then use strings weighted on the other end with a rock so the bottle is just under the surface. That way they know EXACTLY where the kingfisher will dive and it’ll do it again and again.
They often put fish in plastic swimming pools too. I’ll stop there but there’s much more”.
You are fortunate, all my Kingfisher shots are the side of the head or the back of the bird. Exceedingly tough!! Great shots, but I like the one you posted on July 26, definitely my favorite.
I like that one a lot too, Dick. Thanks.
Can’t decide which shot is my favorite. They’re both stunners. Didn’t even notice the lack of catchlight in #2 until you brought it up — shhhhhh! Don’t tell all you know. 😜
As for the stubbornness, it’s a Taurus thing, birthday neighbor. 😈😂
Thanks, Marty. If it’s a Taurus thing there’s no question that I’ve received my Taurus birthright!
You don’t have a complete claim on stubbornness. I am a January babe, and my father told me I was more stubborn than stains. He may have had a point. And as a Saggitarian he had a generous complement too.
Sensational shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
I really like the first photograph. The flight posture is quite unusual and informative.
Thank you, Pam.
I’m weighing in as a vote for the first image. There’s something wonderful about seeing a familiar bird in an unfamiliar configuration. I learn something new!
Interesting perspective on that first shot, Mary. One thing I like about it is his imperfect tail held almost vertically.
Shouldn’t chuckle, but I did…….;) The kingfishers ARE tough subjects even on a power line where they are inevitably back lit or the wind is causinging a few issues and “timing” – the “waiting game” – ensures they don’t often get well photographed. However! You DID get a good shot even if not what you’d have hoped for……..:)
Wind? You have wind in Montana? 🙂
Thanks, Judy.
I like both photos Ron,but I like the wing positions better in the 2nd. The 2nd is a great shot except for the lack of the catch eye. I have taken hundreds of Kingfisher photos and they are definitely the most difficult. Their take offs are erratic and so quick that it makes getting excellent photos so difficult. When I am waiting for an eagle to take off I can fairly accurately make a decision on which way it will go, but forget that for Kingfishers. They can fly up, down, left, right, or somewhere in between. I would be thrilled had I taken either of these.
Everett, one of the things that makes kingfishers so fast at takeoff is their powered downward flight designed to get them to the fish they’re diving on as quickly as possible.
I can tell you understand the “kingfisher challenge”.
Great article Ron. I like the top image as it shows an interesting flight posture I have not seen yet with an arc to its body like that.
They are very hard to photograph as you point out. Wow, 13 minutes waiting patiently for it to take off. I bet your eyes and arms were pretty tired by the time it finally took off!
Kingfishers are one of my favorite photography challenges. Sometimes up in Alaska, especially in South East Alaska, I get bored photographing bears and devote a couple of full days of just trying to photograph Kingfishers in flight. It often turns into a “character-building exercise”, with many attempts and nothing good to show for it. I have been experimenting with the number of focus points I use on them, and finding somewhat better results using a center-weighted pattern of 5 AF points.
I think one of the biggest challenges with getting them in flight is their habitat, almost always flying in front of, and close to, trees and brush along shorelines. When they do not dive for a fish, their flight often undulates somewhat like a flicker or woodpecker, also making them hard to track.
Your photos of Kingfisher and article, that show the honest reality of just how difficult they are to photograph ethically is much appreciated. I hope your readers realize this and are not swayed by the frequent photographs of baited kingfishers you see. Those ones with the kingfisher’s bill just breaking the surface of golden still water, in perfect focus. I think you posted about all the trickery used in these setup kingfishers before, so I will not rant more on it here.
“Character-building exercise” indeed! In situations like that it’s my stubborn streak kicking in that allows me to be successful occasionally. I keep telling myself I”M NOT GONNA LET THIS DAMN BIRD WIN! so I just hang in there. My mother always used to say I was stubborn just like her and I guess she was right.
Thanks for mentioning the setups so often used with kingfishers. I know they rub both of us the wrong way.
Edit: And by the way, if I have a chance at the bird in flight with no branches close to grab my focus points I sometimes use a “center-weighted pattern of 5 AF points” too. But if there are branches, as there often are, I’ll use a different strategy depending on the situation.