A Colourful Start

The New Year had arrived and it was good to get out for some fresh air to blow the bugs away.I decided on a visit to Yarrow Valley Country Park where the kingfisher was still showing well on most days.On my arrival no one else was there and neither was the kingfisher.I kept myself amused photographing the various birds that were coming to the seed I had put down.The nuthatch is always a nice bird to photograph but they don't hang around and you have to be quick with the shutter.The robin is always a very obliging bird and does pose beautifully for his picture.I have shown above a couple of the robin and nuthatch to add to the colour shown by the overdue kingfisher.

It was a couple of hours before the kingfisher arrived and amazingly it stayed for around two hours.The spot it comes to is always dark and it is not easy to get correct exposures.The bird gave lots of opportunities however and it caught fish on a couple of occasions.It was however partly hidden behind branches as it swallowed the small perch it was catching.My best attempt at a feeding shot is shown above as the perch vanished down the kingfisher's throat.

Where it comes to feed is right beside a very popular footpath around the lake and  there are many people passing by.The kingfisher seems to be used to all the attention and it was nice to see many children and their parents having their first view of one of our most colourful resident birds.Eventually the kingfisher departed and so did I. It had been a super session with one of our enigmatic birds and I am sure I will return soon to try and capture that perfect image of this stunning little bird.Thanks for looking in and enjoy the rest of the New Year.