Our own Cedric Desgardins has sent us these amazing pictures. It reminds us, that it's not always just about carp. The nature!
Cedric says:
The European Kingfisher. As its name suggests, it is an outstanding fisherman.
It is easily recognized by its beautiful colors. Its head and tail are turquoise blue, its cheeks and lower part are orange-red, while its throat is white.
The Common Kingfisher also has a recognizable beak: long, pointed and black. Its cry is strident and high-pitched. it lives mainly near lakes, rivers or rivers full of fish.
The Common Kingfisher's main diet consists of fish, insects and invertebrates, such as small crustaceans that it finds in the water. Once it has caught a bird with its beak, it strikes it against the perch from where it was watching it and it swallows it head first. Regularly, it regurgitates a kind of balls made up of fish bones and the hard parts of insects it has eaten.
The nesting period of the Kingfisher is between March and September during which the couple of birds can have 2 or 3 broods. Their courtship display is marked by noisy aerial chases. It builds its nest in sandy soils, along streams, in sorts of galleries, which can reach 1.20 meters in length, and at the end of which the nest is placed. The female lays between 5 and 7 eggs which she incubates alternately with the male for about 20 days. The young of the Common Kingfisher, fed by the two adults, leave the nest after 4 weeks.
See below some amazing shots. Some of them takes up to 6 hours or more to get that "one" perfect shot.
