August 22 2015. Photo with a story. Since I have mine digital camera ( beginning 2012 ) this was the species which was on number 1 of my wish-list of species I wanted to take pictures of in the wild. In Germany I knew several places where the species was living and I've spend at least 100 hours - and walked about 500 kilometers but never saw one :(. In the Netherlands I had seen the species pre-2012 several times but as soon as I had my camera, the species kept hidding for me.
2013 we made a boot-trip through the Biesbos and suddenly somebody yelled "Kingfisher !". My wife had the camera at the moment and made some pictures from the bushes where the kingfisher should be and at home we enlarged the pictures and indeed, between the green we could discover a small spot which looked like a kingfisher !
This however wasn't what I had hoped for and my quest went on.
In the meantime I had managed to take some nice pictures of captive birds at Best Zoo on on the last day of 2014 I observed a bird on my way to work. I onloy had my cell-phone with me and on the picture I made its hardly recognizeble :(.
At the end of May this year I wanted to make some pictures of Green woodpeckers near my home and discovered a Kingfisher. Before I could pick-up my camera, it was gone. In the 2 months that followed I saw the birds ( at least one pair ) during about 100 hours of observation 30 - 40 times but every time they were to quick to take a picture of them. At the place were I spend those 100 hours there was a wasp-nest about a meter away but because I was sitting quite nothing happened to me untill August 22. On that day I was sitting again on the "kingfisher-spot" and one of the kingfisher flow to a branch direct in front of me and stayed there for some seconds, enough for me to take some decent pictures :) ! A few minutes later - still enjoying my succes a wasp landed on my ear and stung me !
My ear hurted for several day but even so, it was worth it !
