Yesterday morning I didn’t expect the male Belted Kingfisher to show up but he surprised me. Then operator error reared its ugly head.
1/4000, 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
Our current drought and incredibly high temperatures have reduced our mountain stream flows by so much I didn’t expect the kingfisher to make an appearance yesterday morning. This particular stream has been reduced to a wet dream of it’s former self. I was attempting to photograph other birds in a different spot when I heard him announce his arrival so I slowly drove my pickup forward and sure enough, there he was on one of the few fishing perches left with slightly deeper water below it.
With this clean background I quickly realized that I had an excellent opportunity for takeoff and diving shots so I waited tensely for what seemed like an eternity for him to dive on a fish. But when he eventually did dive I’d waited for so long I was a little late on the trigger so I instinctively jerked my lens to my left in a misguided attempt to keep him in frame and ruined the diving shots. Operator error strikes again.
On that dive he caught a small fish and landed on a nearby metal fence post to eat it but he gobbled it down so quickly I didn’t get those eating shots either. So my next goal was to get takeoff shots from the fence post, even though it was further away than his previous perch.
1/5000, 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 I succeeded.
In the past he’s used this fence post as a fishing perch, sometimes successfully, but with the drought the water was now too far away so in this shot he’s on his way back to his previous perch where he’d caught the small fish. I was excited because I thought I was going to get another chance at the diving shots I’d screwed up earlier. In bird photography do-overs don’t come along every day.
But before I could even get my lens back on the kingfisher a jogger with an unleashed, out of control dog (a Weimaraner I believe) came along. That darn dog splashed through the stream quite close to the kingfisher and chased him off. If you know anything about Weimaraners you know that they don’t do much of anything without rambunctious, unbridled enthusiasm.
If I’d have been the kingfisher I’d have vamoosed too. I wasn’t but I did anyway.
Ron
The shots you did get are fantastic! Sorry Ol’ Murph was such a “jerk.”
Bummer about the dog — I blame his operator for that one. And you’ve described Weimaraners perfectly! 😂
I am sorry for the shots you didn’t get – but the one that you did is an absolute beauty.
Thanks, EC.
“Operator error strikes again” Love it. And unfortunately far too often for many of us. That second photo is outstanding though. I don’t recall ever seeing a Kingfisher going left to right and in that perfect position with all his color showing from the tail feathers through the wings and into his face. And in addition you got the catch-eye and an open beak. I like is so much that if I had taken it I would clone out that ugly metal post and frame it.
Everett, I often see kingfisher beaks open like that immediately after takeoff. Makes me wonder if it somehow makes respiration a little more efficient. Probably a long shot but I see it often enough to wonder about it. Maybe he was calling but if he was I don’t remember it.
That is one spectacular take off shot! The wing and tail feathers, his little curled up feet … Nice one, Ron!
Thanks very much, Jamila.
Nice it is still there, it most likely has a burrow with young and does not have the ability to move yet to a more full stream. I hope there will be enough water and fish to last for the fledglings.
Dogs do like water. It is a no leash area, I imagine unless the dogs go after the cattle it will not change.
April, what is it about so many dog owners that makes them think they’re accomplishing something when they use a poop bag to pick up their dog’s poop and then discard both poop and bag within a short distance of where the dog did its duty??? (rhetorical question). I saw used poop bags along that road yesterday. I often do.
I put those folks in the same (or a very similar) category as those who let their cats run free – clueless.
I put up a sign along a section Miller Park path where the bags tend to congregate, the sign is a silhouette of a dog in poop position, I wrote on the sign, “Good you bagged it, now take it with you”. It lasted a couple of weeks before it was taken.
Good to know that he is able to find fish and that you both found a verdant spot to spend a while together.
Thanks, Lyle. Compared to down in the valley that’s a verdant spot indeed.
I love dogs and had a dog for all of my childhood and most of my adult life and would be the first to agree that dogs, like people need some off leash joy time but there is a time and especially a place and I am not a fan of unleashed dogs in wildlife protected areas yet still it happens, often right underneath the signs saying dogs must be leashed. *sigh* Better luck next time to you and the kingfisher. At least no one was hurt.
Pat, I guess technically no one did anything wrong here. Apparently there are no requirements for dogs to be leashed in this area because more often than not they aren’t.
It was just unfortunate timing but I don’t have to be happy about it.
I love the flight shot – REALLY captured his “go like hell” mode. 🙂 User error IS frustrating but then that’s part of the challenge of it all…. 😉
We have a BC like that – mostly oblivious to anything other than what’s in her sites at the moment….. 🙁
Another “reasonable” day weather wise the, with luck, a bit of rain tonight and tomorrow tho the Belt Rodeo and other events won’t appreciate that, and then back to the heat Mon. 🙁
“REALLY captured his “go like hell” mode”
Judy, with kingfishers in flight that’s about the only mode they have. That’s part of the reason those kinds of shots are so hard to get.