Kingfishers and Owls

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Cliff
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Like many others i have a huge desire to photograph these wonderful creatures, i obviously don't expect precise locations on a public forum but can someone point me to information or some kind of guide as to how to find or where to find them. I live in the midlands but close to vast acres of open countryside so i am sure they are around here somewhere, but at the moment its a needle in a haystack job :LOL:

Any help is much appreciated,
Atb
Cliff
 
I don't know which owls you want to photograph but the RSPB reserve at Middleton Lakes is on your doorstep and lists both barn owls and kingfishers as seasonal highlights.

Dave
 
Thanks Dave, whilst I did suspect them there I need to also know the best times, approach and exactly where to be to be within shooting range, people write all sorts of things on the board that have been spotted including tigers, lions and other stupid ideas but I know for definate there are owls there, just don't know how to go about photographing them.
Many thanks for your help
Atb
Cliff
 
You might be best heading to the RSPB reserve and just looking around. Could get lucky and bump into a few like minded people and get some tips from them. :)
If not then you'll have had a nice day out and could easilly stumble across something yourself.
I have read the 'picture stories' of a couple of kingfisher photographers and one of them was sat in a hide for hours waiting on the photo op.
 
Hi, i have a RSPB not far from me ,aprox 1 hours drive ,they also have seasonal kingfishers ,owls etc and i am usually their at around 5.00am 06.00am in summer and stop in the same hide nearly all day ,sometimes i have had 4 sightings of the kingfisher before 10.00am and sometimes no show all day,in the meantime i have seen foxes ,marsh harriers ,deer ,rabbits and woodpeckers all from the hide .....just keep at it and the knowledge comes from the various places in time you visit ,you get to know people who then pass on info ......and of course this very forum .Good luck and keep at it
 
Go to the RSPB reserve and talk to the reserve wardens,read the log book (it should be either at the visitor centre or in one of the hides), talk to the locals (toggers AND birders),look for suitable perches for KF and put the hours in and reap the rewards.
 
If you want to shoot owls then the Barn Owl is probably your best target - because they tend to hunt near twilight and they're pretty easy to spot. They like farmland with lots of easily catchable voles - pasture for cattle and horses will probably be better than arable land. Or, best of all, try to find uncultivated fields. Sandwell Valley RSPB has a special Owl 2nd Sep - pop along there and ask lots of questions.

The best time to look for them is for around an hour before sunset and 30 minutes after. They tend to stick to familiar hunting grounds, so when you've found one place it'll probably return. Around May through June they'll be feeding chicks, so they'll be hunting a lot. We had a male that would visit the fields at the back of our garden five or six times in an evening.

Their hunting can be easily disrupted by the weather. During the wet spells we had earlier in the year the male often hunted during any dry spell during the day - 10:30, 12:30, 14:00.

Photographing them can be easy if they're used to people. The one I've been watching hunts in an area near houses where lots of people walk their dogs. I've been lucky enough to catch a few shots of it from the back garden -

Barn%20Owl%20with%20Vole.jpg
 
Thank you for all the advice (y)

Atb
Cliff
 
Frank, I saw a Barn owl local to me returning from a hunt (holding a kill), would I be better off locating the hunt site or staying near the nesting area, not sure where the actual nest is but I have a fair idea.

I ask as I have since been back at the times you mention and have not seen it since. Seen loads of roe deer, pretty close too, but no barnies.
 
maninsuitcase said:
Frank, I saw a Barn owl local to me returning from a hunt (holding a kill), would I be better off locating the hunt site or staying near the nesting area, not sure where the actual nest is but I have a fair idea.

I ask as I have since been back at the times you mention and have not seen it since. Seen loads of roe deer, pretty close too, but no barnies.
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I would think it's a bit late in the year for them to still have young in the nest, so they won't be hunting so often. It may require a bit of perseverence. Our local Barnie, which visited several times a day last month, is now seen every three or four days. I presume it's hunting daily, but probably at other sites.

I've often thought of following them when they're taking food back to the nest, but I've always decided not to do so. Just in case it helps undesirables find it. Even if there's just a tiny chance, I'd rather not take the risk.
 
hollis_f said:
I would think it's a bit late in the year for them to still have young in the nest, so they won't be hunting so often. It may require a bit of perseverence. Our local Barnie, which visited several times a day last month, is now seen every three or four days. I presume it's hunting daily, but probably at other sites.

I've often thought of following them when they're taking food back to the nest, but I've always decided not to do so. Just in case it helps undesirables find it. Even if there's just a tiny chance, I'd rather not take the risk.
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Might give it a miss till next year then as I don't have much chance to go every day. I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 evenings a month!
 
You should also be aware that photographing owls and kingfishers at or near the nest requires a license;)
 
Like everyone says kingfishers are schedule 1 species so photographing them near or at nests needs a licence. For this reason I stay away from anywhere that's not in a public hide.

There are a couple of perches near the Carlton hide at Brandon Marsh, I've not seen any there but I've seen many photos on flickr. A bit further a field is the RSPB reserve at Rye Meads, Hertfordshire, I watched them for about 4 hours on Sunday bringing fish back to hide regularly. The hide is quite far from the post it was landing on so focal length is really important, a guy with a d3s, 600mm and tele converter (1.7 or 2x) got some great close up images but mine were no where near as great with a 300mm and 1.4tc. Rye Meads has an artificial sand bank where they nest, this is probably the closest you can legally get to a nest site.

It would be good if everyone stated if they have a licence on their kingfisher photos, a bit like whether a photo is actually wild or captive. May help everyone see what is possible without a licence.
 
I know you mention living in the Midlands but there are areas of Norfolk and East Yorkshire with good Barn Owl populations particularly - if you can manage a few days in either location a local guide could probably put you onto some good spots?
 
Pitvar said:
I know you mention living in the Midlands but there are areas of Norfolk and East Yorkshire with good Barn Owl populations particularly - if you can manage a few days in either location a local guide could probably put you onto some good spots?
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Chris Mills of Norfolk Birding took the pair of us out one morning and gave us the best views of a Barn Owl I've ever had. Even better than seeing one in our back garden.
 
hollis_f said:
Chris Mills of Norfolk Birding took the pair of us out one morning and gave us the best views of a Barn Owl I've ever had. Even better than seeing one in our back garden.
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Chris certainly knows his area - I spent a day with him for around Cley a few years ago and he knew spots for mammals and even an Adder or two!
 
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