Windy Day

The story behind the image:

Another good day at the river with Priscilla landing on her favourite fishing perch. I call the male Elvis so Priscilla seems a fitting name for the female (differentiated from the male by the orange lower beak).

It was quite a windy morning. She was busy scanning the river below when a strong gust rose up and almost blew her off the branch. She had to flap out her wings to maintain her balance and composure.

I was poised, ready with my finger on the shutter for the dive. The instant I sensed the movement I was off - I shot a burst at high speed and managed to capture this beautiful shape.

By now I have hundreds of pictures of the kingfisher sitting on a perch so at this stage I look for something more to elevate the composition to the next level. Whenever she moves I shoot - I’m hoping for a particular flick to the feathers, an aesthetically pleasing line to the back and the wings, a hint of action.

This picture for me has it all. In fact I would go so far as to say it’s my favourite image of 2022, well so far but there’s still a month to go!