Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Wild Bird Wednesday 332 - Kingfisher

Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) are wonderful birds.  They are always a highlight for me.  Being back in Somerset a few weeks ago gave me a chance to catch up with this species.

I spent a huge amount of time as a kid fishing, so I saw these birds on a more than occasionally; but they never lost that charm of being something special.   The flash of blue as they shot across ponds or rivers was always a wonderful thing to see.

I caught up with this female (the orange on the beak is a give away) at Ham Walls RSPB reserve.  These are not the greatest pictures, but they are the first ones I have taken of this species in the UK.

Splendid birds.





As ever, you can join in with WBW by clicking on the blue button below the thumbnails.  Cheers SM

(Today I will be starting the longest day on a six day walk in Tasmania- wish me luck!)

20 comments:

  1. Good luck and have fun! Sounds amazing!

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  2. Great to see a Kingfisher but even better to photograph it Stewart. thanks for hosting and have a good week ahead.

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  3. If I had of taken those photos I would have been very happy! Cheers Diane

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  4. He is really colorful. I caught one this week too.

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  5. They are extremely colorful-- almost like jewels! Good luck on your long walk!

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  6. I think we should start a petition to rename this species from Common Kingfisher to Stunning Dazzler!

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  7. Beautiful bird for sure. Lovely colors. Very vibrant. Great shots. I hope you're having a wonderful week.

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  8. Great shots! One of the prettiest birds that I know...

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  9. King fishers are difficult to shoot!

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  10. They are cool looking birds...with a hint of attitude.

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  11. I am loving the color of "yours", Stewart, although I do look forward to seeing and hearing the ones here...:)JP

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  12. Stewart, what a colorful Kingfisher. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Lovely colors on this kingfisher!

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  14. How beautiful! I'd hoped to see some whilst in the UK in 2013, but never managed to do so.

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  15. Gorgeous bird! And enjoyed learning about the Mendip Hills in the earlier post (and on Wiki, because I had to go look up where they were... I didn't realize you'd been back to Somerset -- some people say you can't go home again, but obviously, you can and with fantastic results! Thanks for sharing that trip and I look forward to some pictures at some time in the future from the amazing walk you'oe on now!

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