It has long been a dream of mine to be able to attempt to take photos of kingfishers and that dream became a reality when I visited my home country of Wales this summer.
The location was a tiny nature reserve on the coast of North Wales, right next to the sea. When the tide was coming in, the sea water trickled in to a lake in the reserve bringing in delicious titbits for the kingfisher.
i was informed by the local regulars to the reserve that if you time it right, an hour either side of high tide, there was a high possibility that Mr or Mrs Kingfisher would make an appearance.
Sure enough, my patience was rewarded and Mrs Kingfisher made several appearances,
posing beautifully on her stick.
The location was a tiny nature reserve on the coast of North Wales, right next to the sea. When the tide was coming in, the sea water trickled in to a lake in the reserve bringing in delicious titbits for the kingfisher.
i was informed by the local regulars to the reserve that if you time it right, an hour either side of high tide, there was a high possibility that Mr or Mrs Kingfisher would make an appearance.
Sure enough, my patience was rewarded and Mrs Kingfisher made several appearances,
posing beautifully on her stick.
The sequence below was fascinating.
Like owls, herons, and other fish-eating or bird-eating species, kingfishers cannot digest certain hard parts of their prey. When they catch fish, aquatic insects, or small crustaceans, the flesh and soft tissue are digested, but the indigestible bits—fish bones, scales, insect exoskeletons, shells—accumulate in the stomach.
After digestion, these compact into a tight mass called a pellet. To keep their digestive system clear and healthy, the kingfisher regurgitates (coughs up) this pellet through the mouth.
So, when you see a kingfisher regurgitate, it’s essentially doing housekeeping,
getting rid of waste it cannot process.
More images below of these fabulous birds.
