FighterControl

For the past year I've visited my local waterway in the hope of catching these busy avians in flight. And wow, what a task I set myself, talk about frustrating. The delete button was red hot, plus never knew I had so many expletives in my vocabulary. Here's the best I could manage. They are heavily cropped with no post-shot editing, so are way off the excellent standard of other wildlife shots posted here, but hopefully you'll enjoy them.

Sid.

Kingfisher 13 by Andrew Cutworth, on Flickr

Kingfisher 23 by Andrew Cutworth, on Flickr

Kingfisher 22 by Andrew Cutworth, on Flickr

Well worth the effort!

Absolutely cracking pictures, many thanks.

They look pretty good to me, love the reflection on the water, great effort.

They are superb .

All three are stunning. Would be happy with those.

Wow, just amazing, well done on these,

Rob

Superb

Lovely!, second one is my favourite, cracker.

Thanks for comments chaps. I'll be back for another go this year, hopefully the perfect reflection shot is out there somewhere.

Sid.

Hi Sid
I'm a bit late to the party but feel l have to add an admiring comment. Shot 3 IMHO is the best although the others are good too. I have spent many chilly hours 'staking out' a likely spot so l understand your efforts. Also, l try to 'keep it real' and don't use photoshop or lightroom so the image is a true reflection of the moment. Good job

Great photos.

Great photos .I dont do photoshop or its like either.I reckon if you need to use it you didnt take the picture right in the first place.It has to be said my delete button gets a bit cosy as well.

Keith

Great shots, you must have amazing level of patience! I used to spend many an hour waiting for these birds to arrive so I could get static shots so can well appreciate how long you must have waited around to get these. Not to mention the skill needed to react and capture the images when the birds do eventually turn up.

Did you use a hide or just sit out in the open?

No hide unfortunately. It was a case of many river walks to reveal their favourite spots and then trying to use whatever cover available. Luckily the spot they frequented most was right beside a bridge so I could use the railing posts to give me a chance of not being seen for an extra second or two at least. On occasions, many hours could be spent for no sightings at all, other times they would be active from the minute I arrived to the minute I left, but on all visits the patience tank was almost empty by the time I walked home!

Sid.