A couple of weeks ago I documented a Belted Kingfisher being repeatedly attacked by a Barn Swallow. Yesterday morning it happened again at the same location but this time I managed to get the attacking swallow in several of the photos.
All photos are presented in the order they were taken.
While I was photographing other birds this immature kingfisher unexpectedly flew in for some fishing from this perch overhanging a mountain stream. At this age it’s tricky to reliably sex kingfishers but I think this one looks more like a female so that’s how I’ll refer to her.
She was minding her own business when she spotted something coming at her from behind so she…
quickly turned on her perch to meet the challenge.
In this shot I nearly clipped her wings because everything happened so fast and unexpectedly. I hadn’t planned on her raising her wings vertically, instead I’d been expecting her to dive on a fish so I was leaving more room at the bottom of the frame than at the top.
The speed of the attack…
really set her back on her heels.
At this point I didn’t know what kind of bird was attacking her but she sure did. She followed it as it passed overhead…
and then quickly returned to attack again.
This time I caught the source of all the excitement in the frame, an angry and very aggressive Barn Swallow that passed within inches of the kingfisher’s spear-like bill.
Wouldn’t you know it, the swallow’s shadow was cast directly onto the kingfisher’s head.
By now she knew the swallow couldn’t be trusted so she quickly turned on her perch to meet another potential attack.
This time I caught the swallow in frame again but just barely.
I wasn’t so lucky with the next shot in the burst as the swallow passed overhead but the kingfisher sure had it zeroed in.
The next attack came so quickly it took some fancy footwork for her to turn on her perch fast enough to meet it. The twisted position of her left leg makes me wince. That maneuver would have destroyed my knee.
Based on the direction she’s looking the swallow must have been coming in at a lower angle so I’m a little surprised that I didn’t catch it in frame but I didn’t.
I like the position of her flared tail.
For the next attack the swallow came in at a completely different angle which was in my direction for the first time but the kingfisher was still fully prepared to fend it off.
That swallow really had her dancing on her perch.
Attack #6 came from my right again but this time…
the swallow veered off to its left before it reached her. Good thing for the swallow, the kingfisher’s sharp bill was in a perfect defensive position. Sometimes in attacks like these Barn Swallows physically strike their victims.
The 6th attack was the last one for a while. After this shot was taken she continued to fish unsuccessfully from this perch for some time before moving on to two more fishing perches. But the swallow attacked her on both of those perches too. And yes, I have photos.
That was one pissed off little bird.
Ron
Notes:
- I had no idea what species was attacking the kingfisher until I looked at my photos on my camera screen after it was all over. It all happened too fast and my shutter screen flapping in front of my viewfinder certainly didn’t help. And I wasn’t about to look away from my viewfinder to ID the bird for fear that I’d miss taking some of the best photos.
- Image techs: 1/4000 – 1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender
Awsome amazing behavioral series! Award winning! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Hello Ron, I am new to your wonderful site and I am so impressed with your photos and your commentary! I am an amateur photographer using a point and shoot camera – a Canon powershot SX70 HS for my work and for fun too, My position as a Wildlife biologist and project interpreter for a large mitigation wetlandl area has given me many opportunities to try and get photographs of Belted KIngfishers. None have ever come out as incredible as the ones you took! I have never seen any swallow species attacking them either. I loved your photos and realized how many of mine are that “soft” look from lack of focus. Thanks for this and your information. Marisela de Santa Anna
This series of photos and your commentary are quite amazing and educational. I looked up Barn Swallows and didn’t find anything about how aggressive they are with the Kingfisher. I did not appreciate their aggressive behavior but there may be something about this incident I don’t understand.
Thanks for great posting,
Great captures, Ron.
If I was being strafed by the Barn Swallow I’d be diving for cover. That’s a scrappy little Kingfisher holding his ground, uh, branch.
Thanks, Lyle.
Fantastic series Ron!
Thank you, April.
What an incredible series. A.b.s.o.l.u.t.e.l. y amazing. Without doubt I would have done a painful face plant if I had attemted most of those defensive manoevres.
Readomg tjat that the swallow continued its attacks despite the moved perches says that is one seriously peeved bird.
As always, huge thanks.
Yup, that little swallow was tenacious with its aggression. Thanks, EC.
My first guess, the Swallow must have a nest close by. Poor Kingfisher. Bad day for fishing!
Could be.
The excitement! The drama! These are just amazing images, Ron … I can’t decide who to root for, so I’ll just leave it at I love both beautiful birds. (But that Kingfisher is a delight to behold at every angle!)
Chris, I can’t believe my luck with kingfishers the last few months. For years they were one of my primary nemesis birds.
What an exciting and action-packed series, Ron! Wow! And there are more attack shots too. I feel bad for the Kingfisher (would a female juvenile be a “Princessfisher?”).
I can just imagine her yelling at the Barn Swallow, “Hey, I’m just trying to get a little snack here!” And the Barn Swallow replying, “Damn, kids! Get off my lawn and away from my babies!” 😉
Does all this anthropomorphizing mean that I have too much time on my hands? 🤷♀️
Thanks, Marty. I have more attack shots with the kingfisher on 2 different perches but in those shots she was closer to me so I may not have the swallow in the frame in any of them. I’ll have to check.
To catch the swallow ONCE is pretty amazing – three TIMES! Wow!
Make that FOUR times – still learning to count! 🙂
Ha, don’t feel bad Anthony. While I was writing this post I counted the total number of attacks wrong, twice! Had to edit my post.
What a great series! For some reason, I think my favorite is perhaps the most quiet, where she’s looking back over her right shoulder with a serious glint in her eye.
I like that pose too, Cathy. It’s unusual, in part because kingfishers are so very often looking down (for obvious reasons).
Great action photos. A couple of times the swallow came in with the sun directly behind it, which would possibly impair the kingfisher’s view. On that note, when walking in the snow through a forest in New Mexico, a Steller’s Jay kept following me in the branches above. Often its shadow was directly over mine. If I had then been a photographer it would have made for a tricky shot.
Kenneth, I think birds are very aware of where the sun is.
I’m convinced that Northern Harriers for example deliberately place themselves between the sun and any potential threat (like my pickup). Doing so makes them backlit and harder for a predator to zero in on but it also makes for backlit photos which I find extremely frustrating.
So action packed! I need to rest after absorbing this series. Feel like I just watched a high speed car race!
Awesome Ron 🙂
” Feel like I just watched a high speed car race!”
That made me chuckle, Kathleen. That’s what it was like in the field too.
An amazing set of kingfisher photos. Bravo, Ron!
Thank you, Nancy.
What a great series Ron! Sure sounds like fun for you. I’m surprised you weren’t chuckling under your breath! I have always wondered whether we humans are selling other organisms, e.g. birds and mammals, short! I really think they have aggression, a sense of humor, bullying, mean, or just plain having fun! I’d say this Barn Swallow was somewhere in between, but still having fun! Thanks for sharing, stay safe!!
“Sure sounds like fun for you”
Indeed it was, Dick. And it really gave my shutter a workout. I haven’t counted the number of photos I took of the attacks but it’s a poop-load.
VBG! That sounds like what I just did when I took pictures of Milbert’s Tortoiseshell Butterfly, 213 shots of a single butterfly working the flowers. Man, I have a lot of work ahead of me weeding out the ones I shouldn’t, or don”t need to keep, otherwise known as culling!! VBG, again!
Lots of fantastic photos in this group! I wouldn’t know which one to choose!
Thanks, Joanne.
These are fantastic! That attack is driven by sheer determination… wow so relentless! It had to have been defensive in origin. The swallow two nest thing explains why I find them gathering mud at various times during the season. Never thought about having two clutches. Love this series!
Kathy, two clutches/season just might explain some things…
Those swoopers (our name for the Swallows who swoop in to drink at our pool) are amazingly fast flyers! That Kingfisher may want to investigate other fishing ponds! 😀
“Swoopers” is certainly an appropriate name for them, Arwen.
WOW! What an amazing sequence! 🙂 The Barn Swallow REALLY didn’t want her there! That shutter blinding you when it fires IS annoying at times no matter how brief……. 🙁 Kingfisher sure did get a twist in that leg – YIKES! I was also unaware that the Barn Swallows lay 2 clutches a year. Robins sure do and I’ll be glad when they’re done for the year…. 😉 An immature Bald got mobbed the other day but sure don’t know by what – too far away. Wonderful post, Ron. 🙂
“The Barn Swallow REALLY didn’t want her there!”
Judy, I have to wonder if it was the same Barn Swallow that mobbed a kingfisher at that same location 15 days ago. It’s certainly possible.
Just – WOW. As always thanks for sharing your marvelous photos. ❤️
Thank you, Mark.
OH MY GOD, Ron!! What a spectacular series of captures. My 1st thought was the Sparrow has a nest near by & wants the Belted Kingfisher out of there!! When I started watching the Eagle Cams, it amazed me to see the smaller birds attacking the Eagles, especially the maturing Eaglets when close to fledging. I voiced my surprise that the eagles usually ignored the smaller birds. The answer made sense – the smaller birds were much faster & the eagles figured it took too much energy. Your post shows it doesn’t just happen to raptors. I just love watching & learning about all our wonderful birds. Your captures are a true joy to see, Ron!!!
Thanks very much, Jo Ann. You may be right about the motivation for the attacks.
These are sensational photos Ron. What an exciting series. What do you think was the motive for the attacks? Maybe just territorial? I doubt that she would ever bother or harass the swallows.
Everett, Barn Swallows typically lay two clutches of eggs per season. Perhaps this bird has an active nest nearby.
Cornell’s Birds of the World says this about Barn Swallows: “Mobbing may be directed at virtually any species that approaches a nest or colony site when birds have young,”