Baiting Kingfishers

[jcurtis]

I hope to photograph Kingfishers this year (out of the nesting season) and I have read somewhere you can use bait to attract fish and in turn Kingfishers. Has anyone done this before and if so what do I use? I cant get to the hide every day so the bait needs to last a few days.

Cheers
Jason

[tom00_uk]

if you know its not going to be disturbed can you not use a automatic fish feeder?
For under £40 you can get them that will administer around 20 feeding's

[nightshade]

I applude your keenness but not your proposed methods, stick with skill and guile to get your pictures. Try fishing for Minnows and Gudgeon then dive into the river and put them in a glass tank (taking great care over their welfare) where the birds can dive for them. Once you have started you must keep up this artificial food supply until the young have hatched and fledged.

[nightshade]

YouTube - Out Of Town Ep.3 Pt.1

[Dorts]

One of the easiest ways is to find a stretch of water with plenty of Minnows and make a 'fishing- perch' by sticking a suitable branch in the river-bank, preferably where there aren't any so they have to use yours. They'll be using it in no time at all, guaranteed!
Dorts.

[Dogghound]

Regularly feeding an area with breadcrumb or squats, bloodworm will attract fish to a set area. Natural fish holding features such as shallow gravel beds/bars (summer), deeper slacks (winter), under overhanging shrubs, areas of shelter like behind rafts, logs, slack water near weirpools.

You will need to do your homework though (or should I say fieldwork) locate kingfisher feeding spots or areas which attract large numbers of fish. This will make the task a lot easier.

[BillyPilgrim]

IMO you don't need to bother with bait. Just find a perch that they use regularly (or install your own) and sit near it, keeping very still.

This always works for me and I've taken hundreds of Kingfisher pictures. Nowadays I usually sit completely in the open and wait for the birds to join me. Once they do they usually hang around for ages.

[nightshade]

The perch definitely works, I left a hiking pole by a lake on a campsite when I went back for it the Kingfishers were making full use of the better overhanging perch to decimate the small lake fish

[FUDGEY]

I would definitely advise baiting. Especially if you can do it on a regular basis as the birds arent long in learning that an easy food source is available and they will come to your perch regularly. I like to put a perch up on a stretch where thers isnt many natural ones for them. I cut the bottom of an old blue barrel as I didnt want to use perspex or glass in case the Kingfisher didnt see it and damaged itself. With me it got to a point where I was baiting up and the Kingfisher was perched 30 yards up stream waiting. As soon as I got in my hide and looked out it was on the perch with a fish in its beak. Quite amazing really. If you can do this regularly it becomes easy, in fact I will go as far as saying that they are probably one of the easiest birds to photograph if done correctly. Good luck. A couple of pics, one showing the set up and one of my many results.

[bigdave60dog]

Well Well, One never ceases to learn. With the pictures to prove it. Well done.
Dave