Giant Kingfisher Hunts Mozambican Tilapia

My fellow bird photographers out there know how awesome it is to just see a Giant Kingfisher let alone getting great photographs of one, now throw a HUGE Mozambican tilapia into the mix and you have the makings of a dream come true!

I recently had the privilege of experiencing this at my “local“ wetland and as I sit here behind my laptop I am trying to find the words to do justice to the mix of emotions I felt that morning in the hide - it was AMAZING!

intaka island

Situated in the heart of Cape Town, South Africa, this wetland is the home of many species of birds, including Kingfishers that use the same pond (with a great hide as it does not face the rising sun) every breeding season. The Pied and Malachite Kingfishers are regular visitors, but more recently a pair of Giant Kingfishers (an adult and a juvenile) have been visiting more regularly - so exciting.

I had seen some great Giant Kingfisher activity on the various social media platforms so I decided to take a day’s leave (I am still avoiding highly populated areas due to Covid) to try and get some decent images for my portfolio.

It had been a while since I had visited and hence I could hardly contain my excitement while I waited for the gates to open - especially considering the fact that there could be a Giant Kingfisher already sitting on a perch.

I was temporarily distracted by a familiar bird call but due to the fact that the river bends out of sight I frustratingly could not locate the bird. I had all but given up hope when suddenly 6 (yes SIX) Pied Kingfishers flew into sight - I could not get a pic unfortunately as the sun had not yet risen and they were flying just centimetres above the water.

Opening time arrived and I quickly made my way to the hide in order to “book” my place on the wooden benches. There were a few members already set up (they can get in before official opening time) but luckily there were a few spots still open.

After placing my beanbag on the ledge I quickly scanned the pond for any activity - I really felt like a child on Christmas morning!

Sadly no Kingfishers but it did not take long for the resident Pied and Malachite Kingfishers to make their entrance which is always awesome but where is the Giant??

The moment

I was viewing the images of the Pied and Malachite Kingfishers on the back of my camera when movement on my left caught my eye. The GIANT Kingfisher had made its grand appearance, and despite a busy background (the reeds were just centimetres behind the bird) I fired off a couple hundred frames as I did not know whether this might be the only sighting of the morning.

The excitement in the hide was electric, everyone had their eyes to the viewfinder and fingers on the shutter button. After a few minutes we all regained our composure and in no time we started “talking” to the GK (Giant Kingfisher) and giving it instructions. All of you know what I mean by this right - we think we can convince the bird to fly to a more photogenic perch or to catch a huge fish and perch in front of us so we can capture the moment forever - HAHA

It was almost as if the GK had heard our silent pleas as it flew from perch to perch trying unsuccessfully to catch fish over the next hour or so.

Most photographers were pointing their lenses at a Malachite Kingfisher that had perched close to the hide, when all of the sudden the GK dived off its perch and hit the water at top speed - it appeared to struggle for a few seconds before flapping its wings hard to break the tension of the water. When it took to the air we all gasped as the GK had expertly speared a huge Mozambican tilapia with its long, sharp beak!!!

At this point (all happening in a few seconds I might add) we all silently pleaded the GK to land on the perch right in front of the hide. Incredibly the GK “listened” and landed on the perfect perch and proceeded to smash the tilapia against the perch. I think all of us had stopped breathing and were trying to grasp exactly what was unfolding before our eyes.

Over the next 10 minutes or so the GK repositioned the fish in order to swallow it but unfortunately it flew off before swallowing the fish - luckily I managed to capture the below images before it took off!

As I mentioned at the start, this was by far the best sighting of a Giant Kingfisher I have ever had and feel very privileged to have witnessed it! I promise that you too will be blessed with the most incredible sightings if you keep immersing yourself in nature, so get out there!

Till next time…