This is one of the most beautiful shots I’ve ever captured. Just looking at the photograph gives me shivers of delight and takes me back to the idyllic sunrise where I heard this tiny kingfisher splashing in the silty dam water.
I was alone at a dam in the Little Desert as I waited for the sun to rise. It was blissful. I was nestled amongst dirt and rocks, hunkered beneath my fabric hide, watching and waiting. I was photographing a kingfisher in a tree on the far side of the dam when I stupidly ignored some nearby splashing sounds figuring it was Common Bronzewings. Very, very luckily my curiosity won and I saw this magnificent bird perched just a few metres from me. The soft brownish background is the silty water of the dam. I love the colours of this tiny kingfisher, its intense look and slightly parted bill, and the look of its damp feathers. Sharing the sunrise with such a beautiful bird was truly magical.
You know how some weeks are difficult, we all get them I’m sure. Sometimes it’s almost inexplicable with things just feeling a bit overwhelming. On the bright side my friend is due home from hospital tomorrow, I’m surrounded by my beautiful family and friends, Rufous Fantails are living back here for the summer – they are my favourite small bird and I’ll share photographs soon. There’s a lot to be happy about. On the downside are ongoing environmental issues and the never-ending wait for people to get back to me as I try to solve some issues here. I started listing everything but it was too depressing to write let alone for anyone else to bother reading! Suffice to say that it was topped off today by someone driving into my gate, my beautiful wrought iron gate that is topped with a pair of fairywrens. Sigh.
And all of us who care are waiting with dread for the announcement of this year’s waterbird slaughter despite the UNSW releasing their annual survey which has shown a devastating crash of waterbird numbers. It would be wonderful if you could send a brief note to the Victorian Minister for Environment and implore him not to call a shooting season this year: steve.dimopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au
Sorry to end on a miserable note. To make yourself smile please take an even closer look at the exquisite Sacred Kingfisher and check out the beautiful place it calls home, the Trust for Nature Snape Reserve in the Wimmera: https://trustfornature.org.au/reserves/snape-reserve and https://snapereserve.au/
Happy birding, Kim
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An exquisite shot. We are lucky to always be surrounded by the beauty of nature, even when the human world is proving tough.
I totally agree Alyssa. Sometimes the tiniest little creature can give a sense of wonder – like the minuscule blue-grey butterfly that was sitting on my door frame, fluttering its delicate wings.
Delightful!
Thank you Cloudia
Sorry to hear you have a touch of the dooms, Kim – that dismal feeling is hard to shake off, sometimes. Sounds like your dear friend is on the mend, which is a reason to rejoice – I hope you’re able to mend your lovely gate, as well! You took a brill shot of that Kingfisher – he looks so refreshed after his dip in the dam. I love the teal blue feathers on his head. Are they a close cousin of the kookaburra? They certainly do resemble each other.
I am finding the constant racket of chain saws around where I live, really hard to take – it is such a sinister sound, because it always means some destructive boofhead is chopping down trees. Last week, 2 lovely pittosporums – – Australian Daphne tree is their folk name – were chopped down by homeowners down the road from me. The reason? They told me they were fed up with the little orange berries dropping on their concrete driveway! These were huge, beautiful trees – and those orange berries are the favourite food of the local Currawongs. But who cares about them?! The local council gave the residents permission to kill the trees, because, in their words, they were ‘not significant trees.’ I’ll think you’ll find, they were very significant to those local Currrawongs. Those beautiful birds have now fled the area – and no flipping wonder. I miss their lovely songs in the morning. So, I understand why you sometimes feel as if the world is not on your side. But as good old Winston Churchill said – ‘When you’re going through hell – keep going.’ So, of course, I will be emailing the Minister about the barbaric slaughter of our waterbirds. We haven’t won the battle, yet – but we will. Another WC quote to fire you up, Kim – ‘Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never!’
What an inspiring read for a quiet Sunday morning! I am the same as you with the sound of chainsaws. I always try to convince myself they are cutting fallen branches, which they often are around here, but at other times I hear the crash of a falling tree… I think about the extensive habitat that tree provided and wish that people weren’t so quick to worry about berries on their driveway and similar ‘inconveniences’. We’re expecting 42 degrees here tomorrow, 108 Fahrenheit, so I’d better get outside and finish preparing the property for a hot day.
I’m sorry you’ve had a rough time of it from the sound of it. The way the govt treats the animals and birds and environment brings me very low sometimes so I do understand the worry and stress of it all. Thank you for sharing this kingfisher here it is one of the most pretty birds I’ve seen.
It really is hard to stay positive sometimes isn’t it. I often find solace in nature and photographing this exquisite little bird was definitely one of those times.
Of course I will write to the Victorian Minister for Environment. And hope. Fervently. Again.
And thank you for this exquisite shot. I am so very glad (for you and for us) that your curiosity led you to explore the splashing. What a stunning sight – and shot.
Glad that your friend is finally coming home.
Many, many thanks EC, you are an absolute gem.