In the late afternoon, after returning from Huddersfield, I walked my brook looking for the Kingfisher and finished up having the most amazing encounter. I caught sight of him in the vicinity of the hide, and quickly ducked inside to watch him. Looking out from the back of the hide, I saw him on a branch just 10 feet away but then realised that the top cover of the hide had come away from the supporting frame. With the material in my hand, I was in the process, from within, of hooking it over the support when the Kingfisher, oblivious of my presence perched literally on the cloth in my hand and I could actually feel the bird perched on  my fingers as I held the cloth in place. I remained motionless hardly daring to breath let alone make any movement.  It was surreal and lasted a few seconds before he flew then, to a perch still only a few feet away and still unaware of me. Wow! I hadn't got a camera with me because I have some problems with my main camera and it is away being repaired. This leaves me with me spare camera… a Pentax K20D  which is not fully functioning either, but it is OK when fully charged. Now that I know the Kingfisher is using the perches around the hide again, I plan to go first thing in the morning to see what I can come up with. I haven't managed a worthwhile photo since I came back from the USA last week.

On Monday I  discovered  a pair of Kingfishers nesting nearby but not anywhere near the Alphin Brook and the male that I have been studying since last September. This was quite a thrill but something that has given me lots of dilemmas. I do not have the necessary license to photograph Kingfishers at the nest and besides I do not want to disturb them anyway. I have informed the relevant land owners and agencies and we are going to monitor the birds to try and alleviate any disturbance. I may from time to time mention this pair but I will be keeping the location an absolute secret.

Unusually no photographs today except a photo of my Male from earlier in the year… just to keep you interested.