Filming Kingfishers is something that started out as something I needed to do for a client’s video and is now something that I am trying to avoid getting addicted to!
It started last year when I filmed my first Kingfisher. I had spent some time studying a short stretch of river that a pair regularly patrolled during their daily fishing. Watching them at a distance through binoculars was easy enough, but how would they react to me being sat right on the river bank? Sat under a camo net, with my camera lens poking through a hole that I had cut into it, I soon got my answer. On the very first session I managed to capture a whole three seconds of a Kingfisher with its back to me. The bird didn’t know that I was there, which was good, but this location was far from great – the tree that it was using had too many branches, making for a messy background. But it was a promising start. Later that week, early in the morning, I tried another spot downstream where there was a perch that provided a relatively clean background. After only a couple of hours of waiting, I had some good useable video – mission accomplished after only two sessions!
Fast forward 12 months or so and I’m back at the river, this time for Dippers and Wagtails. I was always keeping a lookout and listening for Kingfishers whilst after the Dippers and Wagtails, but there was no sign of them. Then one morning, after a couple of sessions, I spot a bird land on a very low branch in the distance downstream. Through binoculars I can see that it’s a Kingfisher. I get the camera on it, but it’s too dark in the shade to yield useable results; this footage will only be used as a record of the moment. The bird is soon joined by its mate who has arrived with breakfast! It was a lovely sight to see the meal being passed from one bird to another. The next morning, I come back armed only with binoculars and I spend a couple of hours studying the behavior and habits of the birds in that area. I discover that there are a few favourite perches that they like to use to fish from in quite a short stretch of river.
With land owner’s permission, I set up a camo net hide at night that I’d return to early in the morning so as not to disturb the birds. This was my approach for a few visits, and whilst I witnessed plenty of action, I didn’t get any good quality footage as most of the action took place in very poorly lit areas – something that I should have realized beforehand! The experience was very special nonetheless and each time a bird turned up the feeling was electric. In those moments I was in their world, they were going about their lives oblivious to me. It was amazing to be so close to such a magnificent bird. I had one perch on a branch only fifteen feet away from me and then dive into the water after a fish. I even saw them mating and they would often fly past me only a few feet away. It was an incredible experience.
I had briefly thought about setting up a perch in a spot where the birds would be able to fish that would give me a good setting from an aesthetic and lighting point of view. But I have seen so many photographs and videos where it’s obvious that the shot has been staged, that I thought I would stick with taking my chances naturally. Fortunately for me, Lady Luck intervened. After deciding to give the Kingfishers a break for a few days, I was filming Damselflies when I heard the unmistakable ‘cheee, cheee’ call followed by the Kingfisher landing in a tree that I had not seen them use before. The lighting in this area wasn’t too bad and I would have good line of sight to the tree from where I would set up the hide. With the excitement of this new lactation eating away at me, I had to wait a couple of days before I had some time to give it a go – and it didn’t disappoint! After a wait of just under an hour, a fledgling from this year’s second brood was in the tree in front of me. It did have an unsuccessful go at fishing for itself, but was still very vocal, obviously expecting meals to be provided by it parents. This behavior would last only for a few days before the fledglings are chased away by their parents, when they then have to fend for themselves.
No doubt I will have some more sessions with these stunning birds and I may have a go at capturing some fishing action, but it will be a huge challenge to pull this off without staging the shot. But who knows, maybe Lady Luck will shine on me again! A very short video from one of the sessions can be seen here.
