Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Sunday 19 October 2014

Kingfishers on the doorstep.....

Yes yes I know, the Kingfishers are getting a bit repetitive now and this blog is suppose to be mainly about owls, but currently I can't find any? At the moment here in Leicestershire we are experiencing a very wet and windy period, all I can say is the owls don't like it and have gone to ground! Therefore, rather than pursue a species (owls) that don't want to be seen at the moment I thought I'd go and watch one that does......the Kingfishers.

In my previous post I introduce you to my new and second Kingfisher site, it was accidentally found when I had a wander down to the local river in my Landrover. I have now made my second visit and it was with a bit of purpose. After making the tiresome 2 minute drive I set about rummaging through the undergrowth looking for some suitable branches to erect as hunting perches for the Kingfishers. The branches I sought needed to be, A) long enough to hang out over the water, B) not too heavy otherwise securing them to the bank is a problem and, C) they had to look nice! 

I went about my task and after half an hour I'd scavenged a couple of branches that fitted the bill. Now all I had to do was decide where to erect them? This stretch of the river where I can access it in my Landrover is around 500 yards, but only on one bank. Initially there is a confluence of the main river and a small brook, after they merge they meander through a small copse and then off along the side of a crop field. There are five overgrown Willow Trees that offer good cover and natural hunting locations for the Kingfishers but for photographic reasons they are far too snaggy. In between two of the Willows is a straight section of around fifty yards, it was between these two trees that I selected. My reasoning was that the birds would have plenty of time to see my branches hanging out over the water no matter which direction they were flying. The o in and the major influencing factor was the light levels were pretty good here too. 




I am not going to apologies for posting yet more Kingfisher images, I am having a whale of a time (if sometimes frustrating) with this very challenging species.

A very short post as my time is better employed camped out on the riverbank waiting for the Kingfishers to put in an appearance, catch up with ya all later! 

8 comments:

  1. Great selection of images. I like the one coming into land the feet are brilliant and the underside of the tail is fascinating to see. Well done.

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    1. Thank you Doug, an image like this has been a long while in the waiting.......

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  2. Wonderful bird and pictures.. Congrats..

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    1. Many thanks for dropping in and leaving a comment Ana.

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  3. Don't give up on those Kingfishers, Paul. I can take any amount of them! I just wish I was seeing a few myself! I agree with Doug - that last one, of it arriving, is wonderful.

    After a relatively dry period with the Little Owls (although I've not been out for a duck on any days this autumn) things seem to be picking up a bit again - saw six over five different sites on Friday. Not seen a Tawny or Barnie for some time, however. Time for you to get out owling again?

    Best wishes - - - Richard

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    1. Oh I am not giving up on the Kingfishers just yet Richard, I am finding them very entertaining and a real photographic challenge. The owls are not going anywhere, its nice to have a break from them and do something different for a change, but I am sure it won't be long before some owls are again gracing the pages of my blog?

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  4. Considering the speed of this bird, the last photo is fantastic!
    Congrats, Paul!

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  5. Hurrah, this is the thing which I was searching for, what a cool stuff it is!!! Conference 2015

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