I thought I’d NEVER have more than enough time with a kingfisher up close but yesterday morning that’s exactly what happened.
1/6400, 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
This is the male Belted Kingfisher I’ve photographed in the mountains occasionally over the last several months and he’s on what may be his favorite fishing perch because I’ve photographed him on it fairly often in recent weeks. Here he’s becoming situated on the perch immediately after landing there and it’s the first shot I took of him yesterday out of a total of 893. And no, that number isn’t a typo.
I love his perky pose.
On several occasions when he landed here I switched to my smaller zoom lens in an attempt to get takeoff and flight shots. Following are a couple of the results of that effort taken later in the morning.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, not baited, set up or called in
Usually when I post takeoff shots I include a photo of the bird perched just prior to liftoff to provide perspective to my readers but this time he didn’t give me a chance. When I switched camera gear he took off as soon as I aimed my smaller lens at him so I don’t have a perched shot.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 400mm, not baited, set up or called in
In this short series he isn’t diving after a fish – instead he’s headed for a different fishing perch overhanging the stream.
I took 1720 photos yesterday morning and over half of them were of this unbelievably cooperative kingfisher. I had him in my viewfinder off and on for 78 minutes and for much of that time he was up close as he preened and watched for fish over the stream from a variety of perches. It goes without saying that you’ll be seeing more photos of him sometime in the future but at this point I haven’t had time to even look at all of yesterday’s photos, much less get them culled.
I never thought I’d see the day when I left a cooperative kingfisher while it was close and still performing for me but that’s exactly what I did yesterday. I still had much of my bird route in front of me and if I waited any longer light would be harsh before I completed it. So I just left.
It made me think of Tom Webster, my very first bird photography mentor thirteen years ago on Nature Photographers Network (a photo critique site). I’ll be forever grateful to Tom because it was him that steered me to buying my first Canon 500mm f/4 lens instead of settling for the lesser and cheaper lens I was seriously considering. He insisted that I’d regret buying the inferior lens and he was absolutely right.
Tom’s mantra that he included on his NPN byline was “Never leave birds to look for birds.” Tom’s advice was always spot on so having left the kingfisher I feel guilty and potentially stupid.
On the other hand if I hadn’t left when I did I’d have missed seeing and photographing a small herd of sleek and handsome elk. There were more of them out of frame.
We make choices and then we deal with the consequences – good, bad or indifferent..
Ron
Oh Man, these are fantastic! This along with the Grebe are some of the best posts for me.
I really love these as well as the Elk! Of course I tend to be as much of a mammal fan as a birder!
It seems that if I restart my computer I have a better than average chance to reply to your posts. Yesterday before I restarted “it” wouldn’t let me into your blog so the only way I communicated was on facebook, sorry about that. Very frustrating!
Ron,
What delicious photos you have today. This is the first time I’ve been able to comment in months.
I am so very excited. Thank you for all.
Hi Ron,
A terrific series – the first image is excellent. I enjoyed seeing the images of the Elk – they look in good condition. However, sorry to see the barbed wire – still widely in use despite efforts to reduce/remove it.
No native Cervids down here in Australia but a suite of species, including Elk, are farmed and a number of them have gone feral and are a problem in some areas.
Best wishes.
Hello Ron, sounds like things are good. Yesterday I got lots of shots of a female Belted Kingfisher who was very cooperative as was yours. I am amazed how different your Elk look from the ones we have here in the south east corner of B.C. Take care!
That first photo makes me smile again and again.
What do these birds have in common?
Belted Kingfisher.
Rough-winged Swallow.
Broad-tailed Humming bird.
The branches they perch on are becoming familiar “faces”.
In this morning’s Seattle Times “Today in History”: “1867: Barbed wire was patented by Lucien Smith, of Kent, Ohio.”
I don’t think the Elk are celebrating.
Lyle, I guess a good perch is a good perch and deserves to be used again and again.
I won’t be celebrating barbed wire’s anniversary either.
So glad he’s hanging around for you! I’ve been wondering if he is the son of your cooperative female Belted Kingfisher from a few years ago. Perhaps she clued him in that the guy with the Harrier plate is pretty cool. 😎
I had the same thought as EC (surprise, surprise 😂) — I hope that those beautiful elk stay away from the devil wire.
Marty, the two locations are nowhere near each other so I highly doubt they’re related.
How wonderful that he co-operated with you. A first, and sadly more than likely a last.
I am really impressed with the alert and sleek elk – and hope that they stay the ‘right’ side of the devil wire.
EC, this time the elk went around the wire and the fence as the tried to get down to the stream for a drink. But before most of them could drink some joggers and a vehicle came into view so they went back up the mountain, this time they jumped over the wire. I always hold my breath when they do that but they had no problem with it.
Congrats Ron on these fantastic pics! I can count on one hand the number of times KF’s have cooperated for me up here in New England. Either too far or too fast, or both!
That’s usually been my experience with kingfishers too, Richard – until this guy came along.
“On your mark!
Get set!
Go!”
Seem like the captions for the first three!
Fun!
Thanks, Mary.
All birds make me smile. But Kingfisher just a little bit more 😁❗️
Here’s a smile back at ya, Diana. 🙂
Beautiful! The first pose is stunning. Ok, you are making me jealous!
Thanks, April. I’m jealous of myself… 🙂
I find roosting kingfishers to be terribly skittish and my closest shots have been as one hovers before diving. Wow– 200 images is already an overload for me. Some days it is so hard to cull out so many of the nice ones, but too often I have trouble finding just one to keep. What spoiled me was getting a faster SD card which increased the length of my bursts without waiting for the buffer.
Faster cards can make a huge difference, Ken. That was a lesson I learned slowly as I used false economy trying to scrimp on cheaper and slower cards.
Just WOW!! I love, love, LOVE the first image for a bunch of reasons. He looks “perky” and extra alert. It’s just a gorgeous slice of time. The takeoff shots are splendid, too, and I love, LOVE them, but that first image makes me smile and almost giggle–I have no idea exactly why, but it does 😉
Choices are often difficult because there are no clear signs about which is the better alternative. You just pays your money, take your choice and hope for the best.
How in the heck do you manage to cull over 800 images? YIKES! That’s a formidable number! On the upside, that task will keep you off the streets for a while. LOL!
“How in the heck do you manage to cull over 800 images?
Laura, it’s actually 1720 images from yesterday I have to cull. And I have photos from two days before that that I still have to cull too.
Depressing…
A lot of fun, and great shots!
Thanks, Jean.
What an amazing 78 minutes you had with the Kingfisher! Is there any chance that a nest is nearby? I can’t wait to see more wonderful photos of this unusually cooperative bird. I love the perky first pose and the last shot with his determined look and sleek form. Beautiful wing position in that last pic! So sharp.
Melanie, there are several nest burrows in that general area but they’re on private land and inaccessible. I watch them at a great distance through my lens and it’s so very frustrating that I can’t get closer.
Great images, Ron! I love seeing the kingfisher’s aerodynamic flight posture so early on in its launch from the branch!
Thank you, Ed. I hope your fires and smoke are diminishing (seems like I remember you mentioning it recently on FB).
VERY nice! He really did cooperate with you……. 🙂 Man, are they fast when they decide to move! From a bit scruffy on the perch to sleek, smoother, aerodynamic for the take off and dive….. 🙂 Other than the early “mini” we have no kingfishers so far this year but then it’s “early” as far as they go.
Yes, miss other things by not leaving. Distinctive white tail doe (outside of her tail is totally black) and her “jack rabbit” tearing up and down the far bank last evening…….. 🙂
“Man, are they fast when they decide to move”
They sure are, Judy. It took me years to get the first kingfisher takeoff/flight shot I liked but now I’m getting them more often.
Practice makes… better, though rarely perfect.
Outstanding shots Ron and good advice. I am envious because at this time we have no Kingfishers. Here they are winter only and I sure miss seeing them all summer long. The take off shots are neat too because they are for a change in position rather than a dive. So often Kingfisher take off shots are of course a dive. 833 – that is a lot. Will take you a long time to cull through those.
Everett, we’re lucky in that we can have kingfishers all year long if the winter isn’t too harsh.
Ron – was just coming back to see your comments. I was just about to head out the door this morning myself and typed in my response to the Kingfisher and posted it. I never scrolled down far enough to see the elk. Neat photo.
Everett, the elk photo probably wasn’t there when you saw the post. I added it soon after I published the post.
Love that first image !! I keep going back to it !! The “spikey” crest and the slightly open bill just make this little guy so invitingly adorable !!
Thanks, Gary. Yup, he’s a looker and that particular pose puts him at his best.