Kingfisher Diary (with photos)

[wwatling]

Thanks for the excellent reply Jeff! It was very helpful, good to know Natural England allow shots of nesting boxes to qualify. Trying to find a few nests (esp of small birds, finches etc)& get close enough to photograph without disturbance, I think is harder than getting a hide near a Kingfisher nest. At least their nests are hidden in the bank - otherwise I could take a photo of a blackbird flying into a bush & say there was a nest in there somewhere!! I'll keep persevering though!

Just been given verbal access to a private estate where the owner knows there's a breading pair that I'm visiting for the 1st time tomorrow - can't wait! No intention to photograph near the nest though until I've got my licence - just hoping to find some of their regular perches & put up a hide.

This is the sort of shot I'm hoping to get more of - Stodmarsh public reserve, Kent, with 1DS MkII, 600mm & 1.4x converter. Spent hours watching it catch the marsh frogs, that kept sticking out their legs as they didn't want to be swallowed, very entertaining!! It's one of the few places I know where you can see Kingfishers very regulary, legally & from a public hide.



Keep the diary going Jeff - sorry I misread the dates, it was 01:30 & I think I mistook the date you joined as the date of the post - a bit bleary eyed!

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by wwatling

Just been given verbal access to a private estate where the owner knows there's a breading pair that I'm visiting for the 1st time tomorrow - can't wait! No intention to photograph near the nest though until I've got my licence - just hoping to find some of their regular perches & put up a hide.

William - be very careful! It is not the act of photographing the birds that is permitted by a Schedule 1 Licence but the act of disturbance. Therefore ANY "intentional or reckless" disturbance of nesting Kingfishers at or near their nest and without a Schedule 1 Licence is a criminal offence - I suggest you read my post of 27 March for more details on this.

It follows from this that if you purposely visit an area in which Kingfishers are known to be nesting with a view to seeking them out but without knowing the precise location of the nest and without the necessary Licence, there is quite a good chance that you may stumble across the nest area and perhaps disturb the birds in the process - you will thus have committed a criminal offence as the act of disturbance would clearly be "reckless"

Incidentally, Schedule 1 Licences are issued on a quota system and as we are now well into the breeding season with some pairs probably into their 2nd brood I wouldn't be at all surprised if this year's quota has already been used up. It's probably worth checking by 'phone with Natural England's Licensing Section before going to the time and trouble of formally applying for a Licence.

Jeff

[wwatling]

Thanks Jeff, v useful clarification! For the record I have NO intention of recklessley or otherwise disturbing them!! I'd be heart broken if that happened even by mistake! I'll give Natural England's Licensing Section a ring before going I think to be absolutely sure I'm on the right side of the law & of course the bird's welfare must come first. If in doubt I'll stay away. Please don't misunderstand me, the very fact I'm asking the Qs now is because I want to get it right & NOT make a mistake, I hope you understand?

I'll upload the photos from the Stodmarsh hide, once the moderator releases them.

Regards.

[Oy]

Originally Posted by wwatling

I'll upload the photos from the Stodmarsh hide, once the moderator releases them.

Regards.

Excellent photographs - but you'll need to resize them before they are accepted. As the big banner on the upload page says, they should be under 500k and between 800x600 and 1280x1024 pixels.

Thanks

[wwatling]

Jeff, I spoke to Natural England's licensing dept this a.m. who, as you stated, are very helpful! They explained a bit more about the rules & emphasised that although the licenses are issued for 1/2-1/11 to co-incide with the breeding season, even outside of those dates a member of the public shouldn't cause a disruption at or near a nest. (My summary, not a quote). I've therefore cancelled my trip today & decided not to go in future as I don't want to risk disturbing them at all! I've therefore made it a resolution and an ambition to get my self licensed to make sure I'm doing everything correctly for the welfare of the birds & of course, legally. I'm sure that in itself will prove great fun and a real challenge! Thanks for your helpful clarification, really useful practical advice!

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by wwatling

Thanks Jeff, v useful clarification! For the record I have NO intention of recklessley or otherwise disturbing them!! I'd be heart broken if that happened even by mistake! I'll give Natural England's Licensing Section a ring before going I think to be absolutely sure I'm on the right side of the law & of course the bird's welfare must come first. If in doubt I'll stay away. Please don't misunderstand me, the very fact I'm asking the Qs now is because I want to get it right & NOT make a mistake, I hope you understand?Regards.

William, Forgive me but I certainly didn't mean to imply that you would intentionally disturb nesting Kingfishers but I wanted to be sure that you understood the potential consequences of even accidentally disturbing them on your proposed visit to the site in question. Even such accidental disturbance is likely to be considered as 'reckless' (and therefore fall foul of the relevant law) if you knowingly enter a nesting territory without the necessary Licence.

I know you said in a previous post that you were "just hoping to find some of their regular perches & put up a hide" but the point is that at this time of year many breeding pairs will probably be actively feeding young at the nest or still be feeding recently fledged dependent youngsters near the nest site. This being so, their most 'regular perches' will probably be the ones very near the nesthole and which they will typically use dozens of times each day both before and after each visit to the nesthole. Consequently, in finding such perching positions it would be all too easy to 'accidentally' stumble across the nest site and, in doing so, to cause potentially catastrophic disturbance to the birds' feeding routine at the nest or to the care of the dependent fledglings. Not only could this be disastrous from the point of view of the birds' welfare but, in my view, it would certainly amount to 'reckless' disturbance and the commission of a criminal offence

I'm pleased to see from your latest post that following the advice profferred by Natural England you've decided against visiting the site in question, at least for the time being - if I may say so, that's a very wise move

May I also just add that, in my opinion, it is now much too late in the breeding season to safely begin a quest to locate a Kingfisher nest site - mainly for the reasons of potential disturbance already mentioned - but also because Natural England typically take up to 15 working days to process a Licence application which means that even if you applied today it would be nearly mid-July before you got your Licence (if succesful )

As you may be aware, Kingfishers typically pair up as early as February and the courtship routine/nestbuilding activity usually lasts at least a couple of weeks. This is the safest time to seek out a nesting territory (and to then apply for your Schedule 1 Licence, which will be specific to that particular site) as the birds are very active around the site during this phase and are therefore easily seen. Also, any disturbance (accidental or otherwise) will not be as damaging as, at worst, the birds would probably simply switch the position of their nesthole to a different part of their adopted territory. I'd suggest, therefore, that you defer your plans until next February and then get out and about in suitable locations.

One further point - if you've already seen the Schedule 1 Licence application form you'll know that it requires applicants to "...demonstrate an awareness of the breeding ecology of their target species...". I met this requirement by locating, buying and studying copies of the only 4 books on Kingfishers published in the UK in the last 40 years. These are:-

'The Kingfisher' by Rosemary and Ron Eastman - published in 1969 as part of the Collins
Country Book Club

'The Kingfisher' by David Boag (now a highly respected wildlife photographer) -
published in 1982

'Kingfisher' by Paolo Fioratti (an Italian naturalist and wildlife photographer) - published in
1992

and 'Kingfishers' by Charlie Hamilton James (an acclaimed wildlife film cameraman who
recently filmed the Kingfishers on Springwatch) - published in 1997

Unless you're already very knowledgeable about Kingfishers, I'd recommend that you try to obtain a copy of at least one of these books (I found a couple of them on e-bay) as a means of 'getting to know' your target species - an essential ingredient of course in any serious targeted wildlife photography

Finally, I hope this additional information will also be helpful to you and indeed to anyone else contemplating applying for a Schedule 1 Licence for Kingfishers (or any other species).

Jeff
Schedule 1 Licence holder

[John]

What a knowledgeable reply Jeff and surely will be of great value to anyone that is thinking of trying for Sched 1 licences.

Top man.

John

[Bettedaviseyes]

What a wonderful Diary Jeff,so interesting and well written,many thanks for this lovely thread.
I look forward to seeing the photos of the babies when they emerge!
You truly are the Bill Oddie of WAB!!! (only taller !)

[GME]

As with everyone else I think this is an amazing story and thread. I love Kingfishers, they are one of my favourite birds. It has been fascinating catching up on the story. Top drawer Jeff Many thanks for sharing

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by John

What a knowledgeable reply Jeff and surely will be of great value to anyone that is thinking of trying for Sched 1 licences.

Top man.

John

I second that, very well put Jeff.