Any of you that have spent any time on the boat this year will have become aware of my, I'm sure terribly irritating, habit of pointing out that I can see a kingfisher, just as it flies away from the front of the boat at high speed, about 9 inches above the level of the water. "Where? Where?" has been the usual response, to which I have usually replied "Did you see it?" "Er, no." the reply.

So today I was amazed by seeing, at first, the shadow of a bird on the ground, as I approached Bathhampton on the Kennet and Avon canal. I looked to see the source of the shadow, and saw a kingfisher on a tree branch about 15 feet from where I stood on the back of the boat. Now I've seen lots of kingfishers during the year, and I love them, but in my experience as a breed they are a shy little bugger who flies off at the slightest distraction. Many times I've seen them, but mostly at a distance and behaving as I have outlined above. The opportunities for photographs have been very few and far between.

I was really pleased when this particular bird posed two or three times, and when I went into "stealth barge" mode (turning the engine off and drifting) I realised I might actually get a reasonable picture. The results, although not exactly professional, please me, because I saw it. I was there.

I was actually in the process of thanking the bird personally for his display, when he appeared in front of me again on a tree, hopped onto another branch of the tree closer to the water, looked down, and then dove into the water before coming up with a silvery fish in his beak. He then moved to another tree where he consumed his lunch.

I was so pleased to witness it, and I will be eternally grateful to Mr Kingfisher, who put on such a wonderful display. The whole episode made me feel good all day. I hope you enjoy the photograph.

Back to Home page