[HARIMAU1610]

Don't really want to jump on the bandwagon but I must admit that I feel Jeff has the best interests of the kingfishers at heart and in my opinion he is right. In order not to disturb kingfishers during courtship/nest building you should really have a great deal of understanding on how to photograph them full stop.
Let’s not forget that Kfs are fully protected by law for a very good reason they are not a common bird and are very easily disturbed and vulnerable during nesting.
I also think if there are large numbers of people photographing a nesting pair of kingfishers at or near a nest site without the schedule one license’s to legally disturb the birds then IMHO this is bang out of order (it may not be illegal in some cases but show’s little regard for the future of the nest and birds). The welfare of the bird must always come first way, way, way before the thirst to obtain a photo. I have first hand experience of watching kingfishers disturbed from nest sites and it only takes a small disturbance to have a serious effect. Research has shown that disturbances which affect the parent birds ability to feel safe around the nest site for a prolonged period can lead the parent’s to avoid taking food to the nest and thus allowing the chicks to become weak and unable to call for food and the parent bird will react to this by not bringing food to the nest as it can no longer hear the hungry calls of the juveniles.. We should also keep in mind that alot of Kf adults die during April and any extra effects of disruption from people should be discouraged after all a law has been put in place to allow these birds peace and safety during breeding season.
Kingfishers have a mammoth task when nest building and it is exhausting work for both birds. I have seen three Kingfishers nests fail this year all due to disturbances from human activity in some cases un-knowingly and in some cases not. Either way each nest which has been abandoned has undergone a huge effort on the kingfisher’s part only to be abandoned due to pressure from people.

I am not taking sides I just know that Jeff has the bird’s welfare at heart and that’s plain to see via Jeff’s study of the birds shown via this forum. I think everyone should be able to watch kingfishers throughout the year but if you say you want to take photos of them at or near a nest site or of a breeding pair then you should have the knowledge to do so safely and also the correct legal license required to photograph them. Jeff would be the last person to discourage anyone from watching this superb bird…..And I completely agree with that but surely we must show restraint when doing so and acquire the skill and legal papers to photograph them ( If that’s what you want to do) safely and show them the respect they deserve.

Ian