Yesterday evening I went down to the river and almost immediately saw not just one but two kingfishers zipping along the river in tandem. They would then disappear into the thick leafy trees on the riverbanks. They were almost impossible to see once they hid themselves amongst the foliage. Here is a glimpse of one, you can see how small kingfishers actually are when seen up against leaves.
But I struck it lucky when I turned round a river bend to see this chap perched on a stone. At first he had his back to me, the bright turquoise back stripe reflected in the water.
Little did I know that he was actually looking for fish from the edge of the rock. especially as he was looking upwards at one point.
He flew off the rock then appeared back on it, facing me and with a fish in his beak. I hadn’t realised he’d fished one from the other side of the rock.
He then adjusted the fish in his beak so that he could swallow it down easier.
Then he hopped over to the edge of the rock about to take off.
And when he did take off I didn’t have the camera settings changed in time and all I got was a bluey blur!! Hmm …still to get a kingfisher in flight!
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 