the pied kingfisher (en français: alcyon pie ou martin-pêcheur pie) has caught my attention for a long time but never had I good opportunities to see them as in our camp in the Ruaha. There are a few residents in camp and around so the challenge is too tempting.
The challenge being to catch a picture or 2 while it is diving in the water to catch a fish. A few problems arise: the scene is usually quite far so a massive lens is required. So stability is one challenge. Trying to keep the focus is another one. And the action is so quick! What is the action about? The bird hovers like a hummingbird over the water and suddenly dives like a missile to the target.
Below is my 1st successful attempt to catch the scene. The pictures are not perfect but I’ll persevere. Even though I was fully ready like a sniper, I still failed to get the bird before he hit the water, only the splash.
After a few seconds, here is my diver coming out of the Ruaha river.
Here is a close up of the beast, a male because of the double black band on the chest. Notice the unfortunate fish.
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