Kingfisher blues, Fuzzy Foxes and a great weekend!...Thanks Harry!

Hello All,

Wow, what an interesting weekend I had and although it didn't go to plan (as usual) it was very enjoyable! So in pictures and words here's a quick run down.....

My weekend was planned around trying to get some decent pictures of a Kingfisher which has eluded me so far. You might remember but I posted a little while ago that I had been given a tip off of a great "Kingfisher spot" by a friend of mine and after several weeks of trying and many long hours I drew a big fat 'HIGGY ZERO!'

From this disaster I followed up by failing on my quest with badgers and of course that darn buzzard who I see all the time but just won't 'pose' for the camera!

Having located the above mentioned badgers set situated in a small wood around large pond, I spent many hours down there with absolutely no luck! I was however overwhelmed by the richness of the bird life witin this wood so told my 'Kingfisher' friend about this little unknown gem. He went for a visit last week which prompted an exciting phone call where he relaid to me his fantastic morning trip to this wood where he spent a ages watching a Kingfisher!!!....He even described the exact spot where I could set the camera up and get a "perfect picture" as there was a small island of stones in the middle of the pond with an old branch sticking out which it was using as it's perch to hunt from!..... 

Excited???....You bet and in true Higgy fashion I packed the car and come Saturday drove straight down there. Parking the truck up I couldn't get everything unpacked quick enough! Over the gate I went and hiked across the field, only to get half way across and find this lot and some of their mates running at me!...

  

Last time I was there the field was empty and as it is very large I was stranded with no where to go!......Following some quick thinking a bit of shouting and a lot of waving my tripod around like a Samurai sword they stopped and decided to just stalk me the rest of the way in stead!....Whilst this was happening my friend 'Harry' the buzzard flew over and I'm sure he was laughing at me again!

Finally, down at the lake I settled myself in and waited for the turquoise & orange beauty to turn up and pose nicely for all my lovely expensive and high tech camera gear....and waited....and waited...2 hours...waited... You guessed it....NOWT!!

Three hours into my mission I did have a stroke of luck as whilst waiting a Tree Creeper landed on the Oak tree I was hiding behind and was literally only two feet away from me (what a pretty bird!) Unfortunately 'higgy's luck' struck again and as I was using my 300mm lens I was to close and couldn't focus on it!!!.....had I been quicker to react I could have taken my mobile phone out and probably got my best ever bird shot!!! LOL

Over four hours later all I had in the bag was my 'end of the day picture'...It really was getting really late at this point and dark!....

Sunday I knew would be better and the excitement got the better of me and bizarrely I was awake just after 5am! Well not one to waste an opportunity I was out of bed and heading for the wood by 5:20am! When I arrived it was still dark and I opted to follow the hedge line along in the next field to avoid waking & spooking my new best 'bullock' friends and frightening away anything else which might be out and about at this ridiculous hour! 

Thinking about my past photography failures I set the camera with my 'low light' settings and proceeded across the field. I didn't get any more than 100 yards when a fox came out of the hedge and proceeded to casually 'stroll' across the field, obviously on his way home, belly full from a nights hunting.....panic stations...no time for tripod...clang...right down on your belly camera ready....snap, snap, snap...three quick shots like a professionally trained SAS sniper.....

DRAT!!!......FUZZY FOX!.............

I think my 'low light' photography needs some work!!???....

Any way forget about another failure, the sun is rising so for a change a 'start of the day' shot this time...

7am, it's going to be hot and sunny and I'm behind my favourite Oak tree camera on tripod focused on the perch, there is now way I can fail in my mission this time is there??........

10:30am....movement across the pond....here we go camera ready......"oh drat, MOOR HEN!.....

Midday and still nothing, I'm not sure who is border now, me or that darn stick I've been staring at for the last five hours!!....To top it all 'Harry' has flown over several times and I've missed it as the cameras either been on the tripod set up or as I get it ready he flies back over into the tree canopy!!!....."Damn Buzzard!!"

Now I'm at the stage of about 12hours into this farcical 'Kingfisher' hunt now and I've just about had enough of it, my backs in agony, my eyes hurt and to just about sum it all up I've got sunburnt on my leg but it's just a lovely even 2" band around my knees where my wellies and shorts didn't quite meet!!!....how sexy!! LOL

"That's it I've had enough can't take it any more"....teddies firmly out of the pram!!.....grab the camera and I'm off for a walk to stretch my back....

"Hey there's Harry"......"drat not got my tripod!"....."oh well"....Snap....Snap....Snap....

The end to a great weekend......THANKS HARRY!!!!.....

  • Higgy, what a brilliant and amusing read together with some lovely photographs. I sympathise about the kingfisher, but like waiting for a bus, one will turn up eventually. Thank you.

  • Hi All, Lovely comments again which are appreciated as always! Too many for individual reply unless I want to pay for 'writing space' I should imagine....

    To answer just a couple of points.....

    1) I will keep trying with this wildlife photography lark but I can't get good at it or I won't have anything to write about and make you all giggle!!!??

    2) Writing a book has been a secret ambition of mine for some time but unfortunately coming out of school with very little qualifications and not being the brightest spark I wouldn't know where to start....

    3) Are there any "Buzzard Geeks"???.....if not maybe it could be a new challenge for me?...there's enough Buzzards around here (over 100 breeding pairs so I've been told?)

    4) Yoga?.....ummmm.....!!!

    5) "Arty moment" Well Mrs T feel free, you might convince me that some of my other 'failures' are actually brilliant!!....do you want to buy it?....as it's now 'fine art' it should be worth a few £££££?....

    6) If some of you smile or even "laugh out loud" at my misfortune and mishaps then as always my job is done!!

    Finally you really do need to watch this space as being the fool that i am I actually recycled some branches from the 'branch pile' in my field last night and de-barked them......On the way home from work today I strategically placed some of them around the rhynes on my stomping ground ready for the little turquoise & orange chap to perch on......the things we do!....or am I just mad?? LOL

    Cheers

    Eddie....oh sorry I mean Higgy!

  • Just Brilliant !!!!!!! Just the tonic to cheer us all up !

    Regards Mick

  • Great report as always Higgy. You tell a brilliant story, so much description it takes us all along with you.

    Lovely Buzzard shots, well earned

    Sarah

  • Higgy the best story tellers are not the ones with loads of bits of paper. You've got what it takes! As for where to start? How about at the beginning? You're already there!

    Regards

    Jenni

  • If I start at the beginning there will be many bits of paper I can assure you!! LOL

    Hopefully experience and reality of life means much more than qualifications in which case I might just have a chance.....especially if I throw in plenty of 'Higgy' mishaps! You'll all have a good laugh if nothing else!

  • You could start another blog and collect some of your posts from here onto it. That'll save paper!!

    There are two ways of writing as far as I can see. First you can be very organised and "academic", make a plan for your "book" and stick to it. Or you can be very free - just start putting things down, keep your thoughts going and see what happens! (much more fun :-)) You may find a pattern starts emerging, or not. There are lots of people who can help steer you later to get something into a state for publication. Have you tried "googling" something like "publishing online"?

    You obviously like story telling, Higgy and you're good at it. Get stuck in there!

    Jenni

  • Sounds like you know what you're talking about Jenny????

  • Worked for a while as an Arts Practitioners' Mentor and Business Advisor!!

  • I think starting a new blog for your wildlife-watching adventures is a great idea - carry on posting them here as well though, please! Much enjoyed this instalment, as always :)