Kingfisher, Redux !!! (large)

With apologies to Harry for showing more kingfisher photos (well, I didn't exactly promise in a cross-my-heart kinda way that I wouldn't show more), here are another sequence of shots that I captured in my long kingfisher shoot in Cranmoor of central Wisconsin.

As others have commented, shooting kingfishers is difficult. Most shots are at a distance, and the lines of sight are not the most desirable. Great moments, like a Reznick Flip, are fleeting and hard to nail.



And even cropped, the details are just not what we want.



But there are moments where the spheres align, the Moon is in the Seventh House... Oh wait, that's a flashback to another moment.

Ahem.

As I watched after my previous series, the same female Banded Kingfisher plunged into the water of the cranberry bog, to ascend to the wire with an immature small Northern Pike in its grasp.



The kingfisher twisted around, to and fro, as the pike twitched alarmingly, and then it flew off.


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<insert music for a long pause>
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But it flew to another wire, perhaps not so close, but still in reasonable range of my lens. Again, contre-jour, but now, I had hopes that I could get a series of shots, so I quickly changed ISO back to 200. The light was changing from the west as the sun went in and out of full cloud, and this made things a touch complicated.

I've omitted the series of shots of the kingfisher systematically beating the small Northern Pike to death against the wire. It took some time, and the kingfisher was relentless in this action. Instead of the Reznick Flip, one gets to watch a Wisconsin Smack which is most probably not terribly fun for the fish (and I saw this repeatedly, so it's not an isolated way of dealing with the fish).

Finally, the pikelette (is that really what I should call it?) was quiescent, and it was time for dinner. In eating, just as it does in flight, the Banded Kingfisher extends its neck and stretches out its body from the usual stocky position into a more streamlined position. Absent the identification, one could take the silhouette as a completely different bird.











And with a final wiggle, that was it for that meal. After a few moments of contemplations and digestion, it was time to find more food.

To my annoyance, I was only able to land a few flight shots. Most of the flying was at a distance and the light was pretty low. I assuaged myself with the hope that I'd get at least a couple of the other photos. Little did I know that the yield on the feeding shots would be reasonably solid.

And so I flew out of there myself...


D100, 200-400mm AFS/VR, TC17E, ISO200 except the last at ISO400, processed in NC, cropped/resized in PS-CS

Someday, I'll be in a great spot and get all these shots in full sunlight, probably to grouse that the stronger light blows out all the highlights, instead of losing the shadows on the head. Welladay, that'll be a different challenge for a different moment, leading me to my usual closing.

Always shoot.



John P.

 

Ben :

Thanks for the kind thoughts.

I think I observed in another thread that the kingfishers have made a highly successful adaptation to the power lines over the waterways - they can much more clearly spot the fish below.

Neat critters...


John P.

 

Frank :

Well, we just have to get into the same spots to shoot together. You can tutor me on those great flight shots, and I'll make you invisible to kingfishers.

Hmmm...

I just have to hope that I can reverse that effect for when you rejoin your wife... :wink: :smile:


John P.

 

Gordon :

Thanks for the kind thoughts.

Now, if I just had such a pool of lovely ladies to shoot as you do...


John P.

 

Mike :

Yah, there's something rather special about these moments. I've had several such experiences while shooting with the D100...


John P.

 

Harry :

Well, you're not the first to accuse me of being a cruel man... and likely not to be the last. :Whistle: :Whistle:

And I think you're also 100% correct about the response of the kingfishers to lens size. When I had a 70-200mm on the camera, they came closer, then moved away when the lens was changed over to the 200-400mm ! I also found that they were highly attentive to movement of the lens, flitting away if I moved it quickly to track them.

As to the morning coffee, I'd recommend taking a thermos of that over to Viera. I just looked at the egrets post you made - I think you trumped one kingfisher with your flocks of cattle egrets. :wink: Great kingfisher photos are obviously just around the corner for you.


John P.