KingfisherCam

I have a new target for the trail camera.  A few weeks ago I put in a stake to support a camera to watch for otters and noticed that a kingfisher was using it as a perch for fishing.  So I put in another stake for another camera to watch the first stake.  And this was the first recording.

If you enjoyed that, watch the second recording.

All the videos on this blog are embedded from YouTube (as Google owns both Blogger and YouTube) but fortunately you don't have to put up with adverts.  The image quality is limited although it is fine for most things.  As an experiment I have uploaded a slightly shorter version of the same video to Vimeo, which should be better quality.  (I have also learned how to embed it in the blog.)  It took ages to upload on my BT SuperSlow internet connection but here it is to see if we can tell the difference.  The original quality is amazing.

  

Since then there have been several more recordings but that is the only one so far where the kingfisher dived to catch a fish and returned to the post with it.  In the latest recording the kingfisher dived but went elsewhere with the fish (if it caught one).

Here are a couple more videos.

The last one was recorded in a gale.  Although it doesn't look it, this is a relatively sheltered spot and the kingfisher would have been happy fishing here if only some humans hadn't come along.

The camera is 40cm from the post and has a +2 dioptre lens to give good focus.  The only other bird that has triggered the camera so far is a wren.  It landed for just a second or two and looks a bit dowdy after the colours of the kingfisher.  We wrens like to keep a low profile.