Belted Kingfisher: Finally

KingfisherWe worried that when the lake was drained this fall and winter, the birds that eat the fish from the lake would go away. The lake was filled in the late spring, and these birds are returning. There are fewer cormorants, herons and kingfishers this year, but at least one and possibly two kingfishers have returned. The kingfisher is the hardest to photograph because he rarely sits still.

Back in Jersey: Lake Nelson Birds

Belted Kingfisher


Hooded Mergansers


Cormorant

Ruddy Duck

 

Red Throated Loon

We're back home in New Jersey. Lake Nelson had a few visitors today who are very infrequent: A lone ruddy duck and a lone red-throated loon. Four hooded mergansers arrived. The wind may have blown them off course. Of course, the resident cormorants are still active and the kingfisher also is out.

Female Belted Kingfisher

 

 

This stick provides hours of entertainment. We can always count on someone to be out there.

Sunnier Photos: Wood Duck and Kingfisher

It was sunny today. It's a pleasant surprise when the weather is better than the forecast. Chris got these photos of two of our favorites.

Lake Nelson's Kingfisher

Mike spotted the king fisher on the dock early this morning and watched it for a while. It dove to the water, caught a fish and returned to its post. The kingfisher shook the fish for a while, tried to eat it and eventually just held it in its mouth. The fish appeared to be a little too big for the kingfisher to eat. Usually, the belted kingfisher flies off quickly, but this one stayed for about 10 minutes, so Mike got Chris, both pairs of binoculars, the camera, and we watched and took photos from inside the house. Eventually, he flew off with the fish so we'll never know if he had his breakfast. Not a bad way to go birding on another rainy day.

Kingfisher on a stick

Kingfisher at Bolsa Chica Wetlands

 

Wondering what to have for breakfast?

 

This kingfisher recommends fresh fish.

Chris always likes a bird photo that is detailed enough to see the eye well. Here, you can see its breakfast's eye too.

Below he shows the proper technique for eating a fish: Toss it in the air, catch it head first, turn your head, swallow, let the tail slide down, and rest.

Click to enlarge

Chris' Kingfisher photos

 

 

Mike has been taking most of the kingfisher photos with the new camera. He went in the house to warm up and Chris got a turn.

Belted Kingfisher Evening

So, what once appeared to be a bird that could not stand us is now a bird that entertained us for an hour or two. There were two kingfishers playing a game of tag or chase and making all kinds of noise. They were oblivious to our presence and to anyone else that walked by the area. What was also entertaining is what we now refer to as the crazy carnivorous pigeon. There was a third bird with them for a while. It was a little larger, a little whiter, and it made dives to the surface of the lake and flew around like the kingfishers. We certainly did not expect it to be a pigeon, but when we got the binoculars, sure enough, it was a crazy carnivorous pigeon. We're not posting that picture; it still just looks like a pigeon.

More Belted Kingfisher Photos

We find it hard not to post kingfisher photos. They have been avoiding us for several months and now don't seem to mind. Last week, the belted kingfisher had his hair slicked back, but today it was up like Don King's.

Belted Kingfisher

We are getting better at kingfisher photos, or he is getting less camera shy. This one was very active fishing today, hitting the water several times with a big splash. Once, it hovered for about 30 seconds flapping its wings like a giant hummingbird.

Belted Kingfisher flying

We spend a lot of time stalking the belted kingfishers around here. Today was a real team effort in the boat. There was one flying around us. Chris is more inclined to wait for a perfect shot, but with Mike's prompting of "just get it in flight" and with his spinning of the boat while Chris had the camera, we got some action shots today. We didn't even know we were interrupting its dinner until we saw these pictures on the big screen.

Female Belted Kingfisher

The belted kingfisher is easier to hear than to photograph. The reddish-brown on the chest is only found in the female belted kingfisher.

Belted Kingfisher

This belted kingfisher is one of our favorites. He looks like a cartoon character.

Belted Kingfisher

Look who decided to use our nesting box as a perch!

Chris spotted this female Belted Kingfisher this morning. The shot would have been better from the dining room, but the drapes were not open yet and she did not want to scare her off.

Belted Kingfisher

Mike and Chris are having a contest to see who will get the best picture of the Kingfisher. They spotted the Kingfisher from different rooms at the same time but Chris was closer to the camera.  This is the best photo, which isn't bad considering it was a grey day and he only stayed for 30 seconds, but Mike hopes to surpass her someday.  Stay tuned, friends.