Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

One of out favourite birds usually seen as a bright blue flash across a river or lake. It catches small birds from plunge diving, which if you are lucky makes fantastic photographs. The best time to photograph them is in their breeding season when they will be more active catching food for their young. They nest in burrows in muddy banks that are dug out by both parents. One great place to see them is the Wildlife and Wetlands trust Kingfisher hide at Slimbridge Gloucestershire.

These photographs were taken from a hide at Wicken Fen (National Trust nature reserve Cambridgeshire) and the Slimbridge WWT (here photographed not from the hide but from a mono pod whilst walking between the hides.)