Kingfisher flying

As I was up earlier than expected to take Helena to work, I took my camera out with me and went to walk by the river Frome at Capel's Mill.  The day started brightly with intermittent cloud cover so I was hopeful that the light under the tree canopy would be light enough to catch some birds flying.

I crossed the river on the footbridge under the railway viaduct and walked slowly upstream off the beaten track to see what might appear.  I looked under the bridge for the dippers nesting site, but there was no sign of them there, so clambered over the rocks between the canal and the river to the spot where I blipped a stoat swimming across the river last year.

By the newly created linking section of the Stroudwater canal I saw two pied wagtails walking on the remote bank and followed their flights up to some scrub where they seemed to find some food.  I decided to go back tot he main river to walk down Fromeside, which is the nature reserve that lines the river downstream from Capel's Mill railway viaduct.  As soon as I started to walk a kingfisher flew about twenty feet above my head and headed in the same direction i was going.

I was delighted as I have been trying to see a kingfisher on this stretch of the river for nearly two years.  Before that I always saw them on these walks and knew where they nested, but they had eluded me ever since.  So you can imagine how leased I was.  I have had a goal of filming a good picture of a kingfisher flying for several years, and previously only ever ever managed them when perched.

So I went looking today downstream and after a fairly long wait with eyes peeled, and a delightful interlude with a white throated dipper, I spotted a kingfisher flying a foot above the river towards me.  When it was about forty yards from me I think it saw me on the bank and it swerved and did a u-turn.  But I spotted where it landed on a branch and set my camera up in case it took off.  A slight movement and I just dashed off some frames pointing at the river near to the overhanging branches where it had hidden.  So I was very pleased to find that I had caught it on the wing, although there is plenty of room for improvement.  Hopefully I can now prepare to set up a tripod near to the nest and see what happens probably early one morning before too many walkers appear to disturb the bird life in this beautiful spot.