▶️ Kingfisher Chicks Jump to Attention when Dad Calls Dinner Time

The kingfisher chicks are huddled so tightly together, their eyes shut as they quietly chirrup for food, they don't notice when dad arrives with a fish for dinner. Watch what happens when he lets out a loud squawk to say it's here!

The kingfisher chicks are 12 days old in this clip and their feathers are beginning to grow through. They are so preoccupied with their quiet complaints they don't notice, even when dad arrives with a stickleback and passes it right under their beaks.

Kingfishers normally lay their eggs in underground nests, dug into muddy river banks using their long beaks. I made an artificial alternative, as close a replica to the bird's original design except with cameras hidden inside, to be able to watch this family.

I am a British wildlife artist based in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, UK. I build ideal habitats to encourage wildlife into my garden and use nest cams to study their behaviour. These studies inform my paintings.