I have had a few more problems with the internet again, so sorry for lack of posts.

Yesterday was all about Malachite Kingfishers and I tried very hard to record some nice flight shots with a bit of success. When I arrived at Intake Island specifically to photograph Kingfishers, there was a small brown bird perched on one of the 3 perches. I had time to set up the camera on the tripod and take pictures even though it took a couple of minutes.  It was a martin but  I am yet to identify it accurately, but definitely a new species for my gallery.  Then as I had the the bird in the viewfinder, it left to be replaced by a Malachite Kingfisher. I had only been there for 2 minutes and already a Kingfisher was here, thats the way I like it! 

 This one was a juvenile for certain. I had two cameras set up, both on tripods but both adjusted in different ways. I attached a remote shutter release to one and set it specifically for a flight shot, the other was set up for a good portrait. In the end this worked out really well, what one camera failed to capture the other was a success. The light is so bright though and all of the pictures show that. Eventually this little Kingfisher paid several visits. It was fishing and diving in to the weedy water. It emerged with not only a small fish but also, on three occasions, dragonfly larva. In the picture below you can see it has one in the beak as it arrives at the perch.  This is a tiny bird, just  13 centimetres (5.1 in) in length, in comparison the Common Kingfisher is around 17 centimetres (6.7 in.) so you could say that the Malachite is a head and shoulders smaller!

They dive at an incredibly fast speed and capturing that moment in the Common Kingfisher is considered to be the epitome of success but the Malachite, being smaller seemed even faster so I had a quite a job on my hands to nail it but in straight flight it was a little easier but still a challenge.

It was interesting to see that they deal with their prey in the same manner as other Kingfishers by beating on the perch to kill and soften the prey before tossing in the air to swallow and I captured this moment.