Kingfisher

Having gone over three days without the hard stuff or the soft stuff I could have been forgiven for thinking that I was on my way to being cured of my addiction but that would just have been fooling myself. On the pretence of looking, again, for the Halden Kingfisher (isfugl) I ventured into deepest Østfold again today. This time the Kingfisher gave itself up straight away. I had agreed to meet Per Buertange in Halden at the Kingfishers favourite place. Per arrived 10 minutes before me and the gentleman that he is didn’t leave his car before I arrived in case the bird was there and he scared it off. This allowed me to get out of my car, raise my bins and literally the first thing I saw was the Kingfisher sitting on a branch on the opposite bank. We were able to watch it for 5 minutes or so before it silently disappeared without us noticing. This is only my second Kingfisher in Norway and as always they are fantastic birds to watch. The photos were nothing special as today was another of those December days when it never gets light and I couldn’t manage any photos at less than ISO 6400.

only my second Kingfisher (isfugl) in Norway and only the 5th reported this year. The all black bill shows this to be a male

With the Kingfisher safely under my belt my mind drifted and I realised I needed to get a dose. I set off on incredibly slippery roads (after weeks of freezing temperatures we have had two days with temperatures of +2C and rain which has turned less trafficked roads into ice rinks) but even though I put my life on the line I couldn’t find what my body craved today. Two Great Grey Shrikes (varlser) were small compensation. 

one of two Great Grey Shrikes (varsler) I saw today but for once no Hawk Owls