I have been having fun this last couple of days.  I have been putting together a plan that as evolved over the last few weeks. The plan is to obtain some underwater shots of the Kingfisher actually grabbing it's prey.  I have fixed up a 40 litre aquarium tank and placed it down the bank,  close to my hide and the water. It can hardly be seen from the bank above but I have a very clear view of the fish swimming inside.  The water was taken from the brook which has presented some problems because it is slightly coloured  but this is a compromise that I am prepared to tolerate because it means that the fish in the tank are in the same water conditions as the brook. I have caught a dozen or so minnows and lots of sticklebacks and they are in the tank as we speak.

Now down to the  fun part. As soon as the young Kingfisher arrived on the perch she noticed the fish and took up position inches from the glass and the enticing minnows that she could see.  She reminded me of a cat as she followed them with her eyes and head movements back and forward. At first she couldn't work it out but on her second visit yesterday evening, she took up a position on a high perch looking down in to the tank.  I felt sure that she was going to dive for the fish but after 20 minutes of making up her mind, she frustratingly moved off and caught a stickleback in the main stream instead!  It was absolutely amazing to watch her "working" and I had some tremendous views of her.  What amazed me was the reaction of the fish who were also aware of her.  They remained motionless to make it more difficult for her and I am sure that is why she moved on to less suspecting prey.  

This morning as soon as I could, I was back to try again and it was only a matter of a minute or so before I saw her, she left quickly but returned with a fish of her own.  As soon as she had eaten it she was back on the high perch above the tank. By now the fish had become very light in colour to match their surroundings and I think they were probably very hard to see from above, but she was interested for about half an hour, bobbing about and watching them intently. I was poised for the dive to catch the action under water, but again she gave up and left the scene…….. very frustrating, but an  amazing encounter none the less.  I felt so privileged to be able to watch her, so close and so unsuspecting. Here are a few shots of her looking at the prey below. These are not cropped images, just as they came out of the camera, that's how close I am.

When you are this close to a Kingfisher it is just so lovely to see all the beautiful feathers around the head and face… what a priviledge.

In the early afternoon, I caught some more minnows on the assumption that if it was full of fish  she wouldn't be able to resist having a go at some. I was lucky because I caught some corkers, those big ones that I am thinking she wouldn't be able to resist.

So at 4.30,  I went back, set up my cameras and waited, and waited, and waited………… and guess what she didn't show up!!   Typical Kingfisher behaviour, frustrating, but we are dealing with a wild bird who has a mind of her own.  When I left at dusk, she was up stream on the concrete, I knew she was there because I had heard her calling several times as I sat waiting for her…….. there is always tomorrow so watch this space!