The last time we got a good picture of a Stork-billed Kingfisher was at Thattekad bird sanctuary, way back in 2007. A picture of it was posted in the popular post titled Kingfishers found in India. During our last trip to Kaziranga, a few years back, we did see them a couple of times, but we could not manage any photographs. So on this trip to Kaziranga, the Stork-billed Kingfisher was on our list of ‘must photograph’ birds. On the first safari in this trip, we managed to get a record shot (below) before this Stork-billed Kingfisher flew away.
We saw it couple of times on subsequent safaris, but it would fly away every time we got within camera range. Finally, another Stork-billed Kingfisher gave us a few record shots. But when we drew closer, it too flew away. This perch with clear background as you see, was perfect for photography. And we could always spot a bird sitting on it from quite a distance away. So we made it a point to cautiously approach this perch every time we were in this area of Kaziranga.
While, we were on our last safari in Kaziranga, we were wondering if we would get a good picture of the Stork-billed Kingfisher. We were approaching the perch, mentioned above, and I requested the driver to slow down just in case a Stork-billed Kingfisher was sitting on that perch. To our pleasant surprise, there was indeed a Stork-billed Kingfisher on that perch and we carefully and slowly maneuvered the jeep to within camera range of the perch. Though the light was average, this Kingfisher was kind enough to give us the opportunity for a few clicks (above & below).
