Posts Tagged: kingfisher
Kingfisher once more!
I hadn’t expected the weather to hold up today. All the apps were showing clouds and cold. The latter was definitely true, and it was a real slippery ride to Heusenstamm by bike – especially the last stretch to the mill ruin, which was a sheet of ice. My new, “small” travel tripod from K&F (a clone of the Rolei Lion Rock) was with me – my Christmas present to myself. 😉
When I arrived, three colleagues were already sitting on the bench waiting for the kingfisher. He came, I took some photos, and I was particularly pleased with a shot where I’d captured him perfectly in flight, only to realize I’d left the SD card in the computer. The Nikon buffers the last few pictures, but if you switch the camera off after shooting, like I did, everything’s gone… that’s how it was today. Punishment was necessary, so I stayed for another hour while the other colleagues all headed inside to warm up, and sure enough, the female kingfisher came by again (it had been the male earlier). So here are a few pictures from today, which almost cost me my toes. Despite thick socks and waterproof, padded rubber boots, you get cold standing in the stream waiting until you reach the pools. At least the tripod saved me the long pauses and waiting, and it fits on the top tube of my bike. All’s well that ends well, though I’m still cold. 😉
My equipment, both technical and digital, is at its limit at these distances. My next lens has a 100mm longer focal length, and a teleconverter is on my shopping list.
Ice, ice, birdy!
After dragging my tired butt out too late to the kingfisher party yesterday—New Year’s Day, you know— I couldn’t stay home today with the crisp wind, frozen snow, and occasional bright sunshine. The birds must have felt the same way, because there were so many of them, all posing for my camera. Even yesterday’s little friend was there, and while my fingers and toes were freezing, he managed to get a good amount of food from the water and, in his typical fashion, beat it against the nearest branch. But first, here are a few pictures of his aerial acrobatics.
More focal length, a better field of view (he always dives into the water behind the tree), and more light… I hope he’s still around in the spring and that I manage to treat myself to the new lens and a teleconverter. Topaz saved the day again.
Merry X-Mas and happy new year.
It really is a very special gift and a joy for me to have met this little guy here. It was on my agenda for a long time: a good picture of the kingfisher. It was a dream, a goal and for a long time I didn’t know how and where I could find it and capture it in pixels. Finally, it worked and it was the photographic and emotional highlight of my work to date. I would like to share this joy with you out there and wish you a peaceful, wonderful holiday, a happy new year and lots of great moments in the next year.
Eisvogel
… which translates to “ice bird” in German — Kingfisher for your englisch natives!
Perfect weather – clear, cold and lots of sunlight and all appointments cancelled. I need more forest and more sun… as much as I can get. If it’s already cold but the lakes don’t have any ice yet, wouldn’t a visit to the kingfisher be a good idea? No sooner said than done!
I stood in the wet mud for the first hour and no kingfisher came – but the buzzard from last time, which I almost collided with, did. Does he hunt here too? Perfect squared^2. Just as I decided to move on, he appeared next to me. We played cat and mouse for a good hour and a half and I chased him around the little lakes. Thanks to my lame autofocus, which has been getting it wrong a lot lately, I missed two or three wonderful opportunities. More training, Falk… others can do it too!
A few good pictures were taken, even if they aren’t action shots. Let’s see if Santa Claus has a camouflage net for me.
Kingfisher, finally!
Unexpected things often happen! On Saturday I helped out in the museum again and was a bit disappointed because the weather was so nice. Yesterday it wasn’t so good, but going outside was on the agenda. Where to? Nadine remembered a nature reserve in Rodgau that we had visited in the spring – after reading an article in the Offenbach Post. Yes! That sounded good and it got even better:
Beavers have dammed the Rodau at this point, in the middle of Hainhausen, and flooded old gardens. This has created a landscape of lots of small lakes, separated by old fences remnants, drowned and fallen trees, all surrounded by mighty blackberry bushes, so that there is hardly any access to the water, unless you have wings or go swimming. As soon as we arrived I saw a kingfisher hunting and after a good hour of waiting and sneaking through the lost gardens I caught it. Finally a decent picture of the blue diamond! One thing is certain: I have to go back there as soon as time and weather permit.
Kingfisher
Despite beeing a very tasty beer of India (and an Airlines as well) they are to be found everywhere. Very, very shy, I had to improve my sneak up techniques. In the end I found this guy who was not so shy at all.