From a few of the more recent posts, you might gather that I’ve been photographing quietly from a kayak I modified for the purpose.  Now, I’m a long time kayaker and one of the joys of the sport is seeing wildlife while paddling.  Sometimes that’s on remote Welsh rivers, sometimes it’s on an old industrial canal in the middle of the post industrial potteries landscape.  Kingfishers are not an unusual sighting from a kayak or canoe but they are often fleeting and a flash of blue darting away from you as you inadvertently catch their attention as you approach them.  Seeing a kingfisher close up is no easy task.  So, I was quire surprised when I saw a couple of birds fly fast me and up to a branch about 50’ away while sitting immobile and quietly watching in a small pond off the canal.  For a change, it wasn’t me who had disturbed them but perhaps a walker along the canal.  

Over a period of over an hour I drifted around, sometimes nearer or sometimes further away as they flew off to other perches.  I never got really close but a couple of times they approached near enough to grab a few images of this female.  You do have to be very quiet and patient though!

I added a couple more to the kingfisher gallery here. 

Gear Nikon D500 with 200-500mm f/5.6E lens (at 500mm).  ISO 1250, Shutter 800 / 1000 at f/6.3 / 5.6.  Late afternoon light.