Common Kingfisher habits (1 Viewer)

[stuart scott]

I’ve been watching Kingfishers along my local river trying to get an idea of their favourite perches, extent of their territory etc.
Up to now it’s been quite difficult to figure out their habits, so I was wondering can anyone help me out by recommend a good place/book etc, or can answer a few of these questions themselves.

The sort of stuff I’m looking for is things like what type of perch is favoured by Kingfisher……an average height above the water, along with position, depth, and flow of water below. So they prefer perches in the open or with good leaf cover?
(I think there are some younger birds around that like perching on rocks just above the water…is this common until they grow more confident at fishing from higher branches??)

Also what are their main feeding times, do they move between favourite perches throughout the day depending on light, and is this why we see them flying up and down the river all the time?
Would they ignore (just fly over) stretches of river that are too choppy, or fast moving, even if its part of their territory?
And do they generally stay at the same territory throughout the year?


BTW. I was trying to figure out where best put this post….how about a new forum area dealing with how to understand the habits and biology of wild birds better?

Thanks for any help
ta
stu

 

[chinny]

Kingfishers

Hi, I have succesfully photographed them over the past month, I followed a lot of advice from fellow photographers, I also like you put a lot of reserach in, it took me 6 months to figure out there movements. I found this link very useful, not to mention the hide!

Here

 

[KnockerNorton]

They will perch on just about anything, as they can't afford to be too picky as perches are often at a premium. They tend to like more solid perches, rather than something a bit whippy, like a reed, so I'd stick some stout sticks (maybe a half to an inch in diameter), about 1.5-2ft clearance above the water (you'll probably need about another foot to drive into the bed, to keep it stable), in clear yet sluggish/slow bits of the river. They'll usually hunt near the bank, in slack water where fry gather in the shallows (and they also hunt crustaceans and larvae on the bed, so need shallow rather than deep water). So within about 3ft of the bank is best. They can't hunt in fast-flowing water, so need slack water pools and eddies. They'll spot a perch in the open sooner, but close to cover will make them feel a bit more secure. In cover is probably not ideal.

They'll have a peak of hunting in the morning and in the late afternoon, with a slack period during midday (as most birds do). They're territorial, that's why they fly about a lot, and also because they're commuting between good feeding perches. They often move out of their territories during winter, due to weather or clouding of the rivers (due to increased rainfall in autumn), and will find a new spot somewhere else, but usually come back to the same place next summer.

 

[nigelblake]

The important thing is to place your hide at a site that is not disturbed by other people, dog walkers joggers etc, clear water and a light coloured river bed is also good as it means the KF can see fish against the bottom.
Place the perch where it is in good light for a prolonged time, and only use one perch at a time, line your shot up ready for the birds arrival as Kingfishers are wary of movement, invariably if you have two perches it will land on the one you're not pointing the lens at!.
You can change the perch regularly for different looking shots, the bird will readily take to a different perch in the same place. I put fishermans groundbait in a mesh bag with some stones so it sinks and place in the water below the perch, this pulls in the fish, and the KFs will soon become regular visitors.

They prefer to fish from about 4ft (1.3mtres) to about 8ft (2.6mtres) possibly because it allows them to judge the position of prey allowing for water refraction, also to get the penetration when diving for deeper fish. A perch near the water level will also work as they bathe from low perches by rapidly dipping in and out of the water.

 

[christineredgate]

I have been following our local KF for the last month.He has his fav perching places in the river,and he does not visit during the day in bright sunlight.Perhaps because he does not want the fish to see his reflection in the water.He gauges his times re the tides.After high tides ,there are many more fish coming downstream,also his perches are not submerged in water.If you have a local bird,and you are familiar with its habits ,then just kepp watching,lots of patience will pay off.