Kingfisher Diary (with photos)

[mrs fish]

I'm so pleased things have turned out better for the Kingfishers this year with their breeding

Great stuff

[John]

Excellent news Jeff, together with a couple of top notch photos as well. Sad for the poor young Roach but great for the Kingfisher family.

I can never get my head around a Kingfisher being a garden bird. What an honour and a privilege to have them begin to come back to yours.

With the low water level it looks like a boom time for Kingfishers in that area, especially if they are as healthy looking as the one in the photo.

John

[DavyG]

Excellent update Jeff, or in my case, 2 updates.

Somehow I'd missed part 2 of your July report, I really don't know how that happened!

Thanks for taking the time to post your reports, they make an excellent read and you pics, as always, are great.

Thanks again.

Dave

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by pressld2

.........Any progress with the book? Some good news on that front would be the icing on the cake! Dave P.

Thanks for the kind words Dave. As for the book, no major developments to report and it is likely to be a year or two before I find time (hopefully in retirement ) to complete it.

I have, however, been introduced to a local print company here in Cambridge which specialises in short runs of books (usually academic stuff) at a fairly modest cost, so that if a publisher doesn't take it on that's something to fall back on. One of the problems is that I have absolutely no idea just how many copies such a book might sell

One other bit of good news is that Simon Barnes (the Sport and Nature writer) has kindly agreed to allow me to quote from a recent article of his about Kingfishers in the preface to my book. I'll try to find a link to the article concerned - see PS below.

Mrs fish and DavyG - and thanks to you too for your continuing encouragement.

and John ("I can never get my head around a Kingfisher being a garden bird. What an honour and a privilege to have them begin to come back to yours") - I know exactly what you mean John. Eventhough the birds have been regular visitors for nearly 2 1/2 years now the thrill and excitement of seeing one in our very own garden never diminishes and friends/relatives who are lucky enough to be here during a visit just can't believe their eyes.

They've been seen in the garden nearly every day this week, probably because I recently re-stocked a pond with golden minnows which are a perfect size (and quite an easy target ) for feeding the recent hatchlings.

In fact, I saw one here this afternoon during the pouring rain and managed to grab a couple of quick shots, though being taken at an angle through rain-drenched double glazing has resulted in fairly poor quality photos -





Jeff

PS DaveP - here's a link to the article I mentioned - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle4282187.ece
The paragraph in question is his first one which I think sets the scene beautifully for a book on Kingfishers.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by JeffH

As for the book, no major developments to report and it is likely to be a year or two before I find time (hopefully in retirement ) to complete it.

Writing a book certainly does take time and those barn owls are keeping you busy at the moment too!

I for one don't mind waiting as long as I've got the updates on this thread to look forward to.

And you're right - that paragraph from Simon Barnes is just perfect!

Dave P.

[aeshna5]

Love that sign of "Fresh fish daily" with the Kingfisher above!!

[JeffH]

Cheers Dave.

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Love that sign of "Fresh fish daily" with the Kingfisher above!!

and thanks aeshna5, I'm glad you like it - I'm afraid I just can't resist exploiting such photo opportunities in our garden. I've now got several 'silly' props like this which I rotate regularly and the birds are very obliging little posers

Jeff

[John]

Same here. Brilliant opportunism Jeff.

John

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Love that sign of "Fresh fish daily" with the Kingfisher above!!

[PMG]

Been catching up with your thread Jeff (now that I've finished my own!!) - you have a way with words - smashing narrative kept me on the edge of my seat - I was almost beside you in the hide holding my breath - and the photos - well what can I say - there arn't enough superlatives - thanks for the time and effort - its giving a lot of enjoyment to those of us who don't see knigfishers as much as we'd like to!!

Pauline

[nightshade]

Jeff I do read all your posts they are excellent but I find myself at the coat-tails of more ardent fans who have already used all the superlatives in the dictionary
Why not approach the BBC ( the natural history bit in Bristol) and tell your story as a diary with your wonderful photographs; just a thought

[JeffH]

Cheers John - glad you like the 'Fresh fish daily' shot

and thank you Pauline PMG - I'm truly flattered by your kind remarks.

Originally Posted by nightshade

Jeff I do read all your posts they are excellent but I find myself at the coat-tails of more ardent fans who have already used all the superlatives in the dictionary Why not approach the BBC ( the natural history bit in Bristol) and tell your story as a diary with your wonderful photographs; just a thought

and thank you too nightshade for your equally flattering comments.
As to your suggestion, hmmmm .....I wasn't going to mention this but as you've raised the point - several weeks before this year's Springwatch I was in fact approached by the BBC with a view to being filmed (with 'my' Kingfishers) for inclusion as a feature in the programme .

I must admit to having had some serious reservations about the idea but I eventually agreed to take part and plans were made for Gordon Buchanan and another cameraman to come along the following weekend.

Having sorted out the licensing issues with Natural England (yes, even the Beeb has to have a licence to film Schedule 1 species ), I received a phone call a couple of days before the filming was due to take place saying, in effect, that the production team's lawyers were getting a bit twitchy about possibly showing bias against the developers (from whom I'm desperately trying to protect the Kingfishers' nesting territory ) and that they'd have to pull out .

I confess to not being too disappointed and I'm pleased to say that the connection who introduced me to the BBC (and who was actually engaged in the production of this year's Springwatch) invited me up to Pensthorpe for a thoroughly enjoyable day during the last week of broadcasting.

So, who knows - next year perhaps

Jeff

[JeffH]

UPDATE - 1st September 2008

Breaking News

The 2nd brood of chicks have successfully fledged

Although I've been privileged to witness young Kingfishers leaving the nest on two previous occasions, this time I was lucky enough to see the entire brood of 4 youngsters all come out of the nesthole within the space of about 20 minutes between 5.50am and 6.10am

As ever, the event was not without drama as two of the fledglings hit the water immediately on leaving the nesthole and could easily have drowned

However, they both managed to paddle across onto a branch hanging low into the water (just below my hide!) and quickly recovered from the ordeal. After drying out they joined their siblings in flying around the site chasing after Mum and Dad and all four now seem fit and well.

I'll post a full update later this week but, in the meantime, here's a taster in the form of a few photos -

first, here's the proud Mum (2nd from left) with 3 of her babies - the other one is sat drying out on a branch just below them and out of shot - the one on the left is the other that nearly drowned, you can see how wet it is -



here's a parent bird feeding one of the young -



and finally, one of the parents with breakfast for the kids -



More to follow soon

Jeff

*****************************************
REMINDER
As a fairly rare and easily disturbed bird, the Kingfisher is afforded the highest degree of legal protection under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If you “intentionally or recklessly” disturb a Kingfisher whilst trying to photograph it “in, on, at or near” the nest or whilst it has dependent young, and without the necessary Licence from Natural England, you may be committing a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 6 months.
******************************************

[John]

Breathtaking Jeff.

Right place, right time again. Congrats for getting those images. I bet there aren't too many people around that have witnessed an event like this.

This thread is still like a breath of fresh air to me.

John

[pressld2]

Wonderful Jeff! Never seen four in one shot before! Just shows how the dedication and commitment in getting to site before dawn pays off.

Dave P.

[jennyb]

Jeff,

This is fantastic stuff. Your dedication has really paid off. The photos are amazing.

Many thanks for posting them.

Jenny

[PMG]

This thread just keeps on getting better

My first thought tho was how adult looking the young are - not like other bird youngsters fresh out of the nest which often look baby-ish! That surprised me!

My second thought was look at the size of that fish - how on earth does the adult manage to catch and contain prey that size - I mean fish are strong wriggly slippery critters even small ones - kingfishers must have muscles like iron!

Its just fantastic Jeff - well done - a thousand times - well done!!

Pauline

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by PMG

My second thought was look at the size of that fish - how on earth does the adult manage to catch and contain prey that size - I mean fish are strong wriggly slippery critters even small ones - kingfishers must have muscles like iron!

i think - though i'm not certain -that they impale the fish with the lower half of the beak on their dive

[rlchew]

I have just come back to this and caught up with Jeff's account and photos.

What can I say that has not already been said?

OK .... I will say it again .... absolutely fantastic .

Keep it up Jeff .... your WAB audience demands more .

Richard

[JeffH]

This post is simply to cross reference the 2007/8 Kingfisher Diary thread to the new Diary thread for 2009 which can be found here -
KINGFISHER DIARY 2009 (with photos)

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

PS. Thanks again to all posters for your kind and encouraging comments

[FUDGEY]

What a fantastic thread!!!! I have nothing but total admiration Jeff, captivating reading. Anyone that devotes so much of their time in this way and is good enough to share what they find deserves a huge pat on the back. Does anyone know if Jeff still uses this forum?

[DavyG]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

What a fantastic thread!!!! I have nothing but total admiration Jeff, captivating reading. Anyone that devotes so much of their time in this way and is good enough to share what they find deserves a huge pat on the back. Does anyone know if Jeff still uses this forum?

Jeff's last post on the Forum appears to have been on 16th April '09.

There is a 2009 thread in which Jeff mentioned there were some family health problems, you can see the thread here:

KINGFISHER DIARY 2009 (with photos)

Like you, I think his diaries are excellent.

Dave

[John]

I hope Jeff is as he is a real asset to WAB but unfortunately he hasn't posted since mid April after being involved in a rather heated Kingfisher photo thread.

John

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

What a fantastic thread!!!! I have nothing but total admiration Jeff, captivating reading. Anyone that devotes so much of their time in this way and is good enough to share what they find deserves a huge pat on the back. Does anyone know if Jeff still uses this forum?

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by FUDGEY

What a fantastic thread!!!! I have nothing but total admiration Jeff, captivating reading. Anyone that devotes so much of their time in this way and is good enough to share what they find deserves a huge pat on the back. Does anyone know if Jeff still uses this forum?

Thanks Fudgey - your comments are much appreciated and yes, as you can see, I'm still around but have spent hardly any time on WAB during the last 3 months or so for reasons I'll explain later.

Originally Posted by DavyG

Jeff's last post on the Forum appears to have been on 16th April '09.
There is a 2009 thread in which Jeff mentioned there were some family health problems, you can see the thread here:
KINGFISHER DIARY 2009 (with photos)
Like you, I think his diaries are excellent. Dave

and thank you too Dave - I'll post an update on my 2009 Diary thread very soon.

Originally Posted by John

I hope Jeff is as he is a real asset to WAB but unfortunately he hasn't posted since mid April after being involved in a rather heated Kingfisher photo thread. John

Thanks John - I appreciate your comment. However, my absence from WAB for the last 2-3 months was nothing to do with the the 'heated' thread you mention - as you will know by now, being criticised by people who obviously haven't a clue what they're talking about never causes me any great concern

No, my absence has been due to my wife's quite serious ill-health . I won't bore you with all the details but suffice to say that she has suffered two heart attacks during the last 3 months with the latest occurring on the final night of our holiday in Scotland in late April/early May and resulting in a 42 mile ambulance trip to Inverness hospital from our remote cottage in the Cairngorms followed by an enforced extra week's stay in Scotland.

Unfortunately she has a long history of heart problems having already had two bypass operations during the last 14 years plus numerous other interventions and procedures. However, after further treatment by the brilliant staff at the wonderful Papworth Hospital here in Cambs her condition now seems to have stabilised and in view of this, and as I've recently taken early retirement (mainly to spend more time with her), I'm now back in WAB action and will post an update to my 2009 Kingfisher Diary very shortly.

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[aeshna5]

Sorry to hear of your wife's poor health- glad she has stabilised + hope that continues. Welcome back Jeff!

[Ollie]

So sorry to hear of your wifes health problems Jeff. I do hope things continue to improve for her.