[www.keralites.net] Kingfishers

 

Kingfishers caught in the act: The breathtaking pictures of nature's finest fishermen that took TWO YEARS to capture.

Philphat Suwanmon, an amateur Thai photographer, photographed rare blue-eared kingfishers fishing in a jungle Had to build a hide to get the pictures and the birds are so rare experts are amazed he managed to take them at all.

By EMMA INNES

An amateur photographer has captured stunningly beautiful images of one of nature's finest fishermen at work. Phiphat Suwanmon, an amateur Thai photographer, spent two years photographing the blue-eared kingfisher in an attempt to document its extraordinary feeding habits. His striking photographs show a family of kingfishers diving into water to hunt.

Phiphat Suwanmon, an amateur Thai photographer, spent two years photographing the blue-eared kingfisher in an attempt to document its extraordinary feeding habits.

The 33-year-old roped in his family to help him create a hide in the birds' habitat in Thailand's southern province, Satun. After studying the animals' natural mating, feeding and living cycle the family built a studio within the wilderness and created a new feeding pond for the birds to fish in. The photographer then encouraged the birds to continue their natural hunting while he shot exceptional pictures.

The birds, which are pictured diving into water to hunt, are so rare that many experts are awestruck that an amateur photographer managed to take the pictures at all

Mr Suwanmon said: 'It was important to allow the birds to see me often and build up trust in order to allow me to take their pictures while they act naturally - not an easy feat to get wild birds to do'

He said: 'It takes them about one second to catch a fish. 'They move so quickly that I had to try a variety of different methods to get the best shot. 'But the pictures are definitely worth the hard work.'

Mr Suwanmon's work has created a storm among wildlife photographers as admirers express their amazement of the high-quality work. He is now hoping to use his gallery as a platform to propel Thailand to the forefront of natural world photography. He said: 'A lot of people said this is the first time they'd seen pictures of this quality and expected that they'd really been taken by a non-Thai photographer. 'Hopefully this is only the start of the development of taking quality pictures, and I plan to take further series in the years ahead.'

The 33-year-old photographer roped in his family to help him create a hide in the birds' habitat in Thailand's southern province, Satun

After studying the animals' natural mating, feeding and living cycle the family built a studio within the wilderness and created a new feeding pond for the birds to fish in

Mr Suwanmon's work has created a storm among wildlife photographers as admirers express their amazement of the high-quality work

He is now hoping to use his gallery as a platform to propel Thailand to the forefront of natural world photography

He said: 'A lot of people said this is the first time they'd seen pictures of this quality and expected that they'd really been taken by a non-Thai photographer'

Blue-eared kingfishers are found across Asia and tend to live in shady forests where they hunt for fish in streams

They are about 16cm long and are almost identical to the common kingfisher except for their blue ear coverts

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