A Kingfisher surprise down by the river

I had plan for today and it was to go down to the river and to film the Greater spotted woodpecker chicks being fed and the adult trying to lure out them out with offerings of food and on my way to the tree I heard a plop in the water and realising it was a Kingfisher diving for fish I tried to sneak round through the water but it was deeper than I thought and I ended up with a wellie full of water after getting back on the bank and a few 100 nettle stings later I discovered a covered path blocked by branches and I crawled through with my kit and found 3 great spots that were clear but had great cover to keep me hidden my very own natural hide it was perfect and I could see where the bird hunted from and another perch which I had setup a few days earlier and my brother watched here with his DSLR and at the opening I spotted this young bird having a preen its parent was probably teaching the juv Kingfisher to hunt.

 After pushing closer into the birds circle of fear which at this young age it is very easy to get close to them so I decided to take a few shots and then it flew off and landed on the hunting perch and as this was close to me I got some great closeup footage and it decided not to dive but to fly down river possibly back to its brothers and sisters nearby as they grow up they will become more shy and elusive and it will be so much harder to get close them.

It was great to see them doing so well after such a harsh winter and I think there will be onto there next brood in a few days when the adults begin to drive the fledglings out of there territory so they can find there own. After a fantastic encounter with the Kingfisher's I got the photos and footage of the Greater spotted woodpeckers feeding the chicks and I hope I can get my timing right and be there when they fledge as there is a branch directly under the hole and I believe they will land in perfect view for a shot **fingers crossed** in the next few days and maybe another encounter with the river King.

Thanks for reading

Mike