Indigo-banded Kingfisher of Dolores, Quezon

[Ely Teehankee]

Thanks to Ramon Quisumbing who shared with me his discovery of a new place in Dolores, Quezon where a single male Indigo-banded Kingfisher (Alcedo cyanopecta) 5 1/2 inches would do his fishing by the creek. This is one of my favorite Philippine endemic kingfisher because of its colors & the shape of the band on its chest. From where I was I saw him take his prey out of the water from a perch a distance of more than 10 meters. It is amazing how a small bird can see a small fish in the water, fly the distance, and catch the fish with its beak. I saw him do this several times but unfortunately, the fish being so small, he gets to swallow it before I can take a picture of it. Maybe next time.




Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM, Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.




1/40 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600





1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600





1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600





1/80 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600





1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600

[Tateo Osawa]

Very nice shots of the Indigo-banded Kingfisher, Ely. I can see very much details.

[Ely Teehankee]

May 23, 2014 9:28:12 GMT Tateo Osawa said:

Very nice shots of the Indigo-banded Kingfisher, Ely. I can see very much details.

Thank you again Tateo. I know that Kingfishers are one of your favorite birds. Let me know if you will be coming to Manila, spend an extra day and you will like photographing this Indigo-banded Kingfisher.