KINGFISHER TREAT

Last week I stuck an old stick into the bank of a pond next to a weeping willow because I had heard the distinctive call of the kingfisher a few minutes earlier, within 5 minutes he arrived and settled on this new perch. I placed myself under a weeping ash on the other bank and expected to watch and photograph it for a couple of minutes before it flew away, however it loved the spot so much that it stayed for half an hour and successfully caught about 6 fish (sticklebacks) bringing them back to the perch against which it beat them a few times before swallowing. The kingfisher was so happy with this new hunting position that it also had time to preen and clean it's feathers, dry out a bit before carrying on hunting. Here are some the photos, the third one was used as the front cover photo of our local paper the Blackmore Vale Magazine this week.