And believe it or not, this time he brought the fish close to me before gobbling it down instead of carrying it far away like he’s done repeatedly in the past.
Yesterday morning I spent some more time in the mountains with what is almost certainly the same male Belted Kingfisher I’ve posted other photos of recently. Here he’s fishing from a dead branch overhanging one of his favorite fishing spots on the stream.
He wasn’t very close and the background was busy so I wanted diving shots. Based on his position relative to the water below him I anticipated that his eventual dive on a fish might be an unusually steep one, which meant that shooting horizontally I’d have to leave him as much room at the bottom of the frame as possible to give me a better chance of not cutting off body parts.
In other words, I’d most likely have to sacrifice the takeoff shots to get diving shots, a tradeoff I was willing to make.
This time I succeeded and so did he. He’s acceptably sharp, I like his steep diving angle and I didn’t amputate any body parts. I do wish I had light in his eye but at this angle to the sun the laws of physics put the kibosh on that.
And yes, he caught the fish. A few days earlier I watched as he caught six fish in a short period of time but each time he carried it far away before eating it so I couldn’t get any decent photos. This time I expected him to do the same but he…
surprised me by landing close to me with the fish.
Soon after he landed he shook water off of his head and upper body. I always get a kick out of these ‘upside down head’ poses if I can get them sharp. The head and bill movement is extremely fast but this time I had enough shutter speed to freeze the action. He must have had a pretty tight grip on that slippery fish.
At this point he’d shaken water off of his head but most of his body was still wet.
So he made a half-hearted attempt at shaking water off of his wings and tail.
The next order of business was to swallow the slippery fish without dropping it, something I’ve seen happen to kingfishers several times. He seemed to be having more trouble than usual getting the fish lined up to go down his throat head first. He worked at it for a while and then…
he took a short break.
See that white branch at lower left? Well, it isn’t a branch – it’s flying poop. He obviously felt the need to relieve himself before he could get the fish lined up in his bill and swallow it. You’d think he’d know that his defiant act of defecation would force me to find another spot in the frame to place my copyright watermark.
Then he went back to work on the fish. Here he’s finally getting it…
lined up in his bill. Getting that done allowed him to…
swallow it quickly.
The next order of business was a highly energetic and full-bodied rouse that…
seriously messed up his hairdo.
Some birds, kingfishers included, can be pretty predictable with their feeding locations and the timing of their feeding routine but this guy marches to the beat of his own drummer. I’ve found it to be impossible to accurately predict when he’ll be fishing in this area. At least as often as not I strike out when I attempt to find him but occasionally I get lucky.
Yesterday was one of those times.
Ron
Note: Image techs for most of these photos are at or near 1/5000 – 1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender
Fabulous series! He’s becoming an old friend. 🙂 As for shot lucky #7, he had to make room for breakfast. As much as I love a good poop shot, my favorites in this series are the rousing shots. I’m always amazed at animals’ abilities to contort themselves (and a little jealous, as someone who isn’t very flexible regardless of how many stretching and ROM exercises I do). Plus, I love seeing the flying water droplets.
Superb series Ron, thanks for sharing!
Charlotte Norton
How wonderful that he decided to be considerate and cooperative. NOT a given for this or any other bird.
And yet another fascinating series.
You can’t see it, but I am smiling broadly, over an early morning face which is not dissimilar to that last shot. And will take more than a rouse to improve.
EC, your last paragraph brought a very wide smile, Thanks for that.
Outstanding series Ron. Remarkable what kingfishers, herons, egrets, etc, can do without hands. He did a fantastic job of working to position that fish without it falling back into the water. I have seen all of the ones I have mentioned here drop a fish as I am sure you have.
Thanks, Everett. I’ve only seen them drop a fish a few times, even when they toss them in the air before swallowing them.
I’ll have to apologize to this guy. Your first photo shows that his legs are a “normal” length.😀
The last photo looks eerily like me first thing in the morning, sans the nictitating membrane.
This might be your best Kingfisher series yet, although the January 3, 2020 photo is still my favorite single image.
“Your first photo shows that his legs are a “normal” length”
I think your eyes are being deceived by that first photo, Lyle. I believe what you’re interpreting as his left leg is really just part of the perch.
I’ll have to go back and look at that Jan. 3 photo and see which one it is.
Ditto, thanks! I had no idea they were such contortionists.
“thanks! I had no idea they were such contortionists”
Kathryn, it happens fast but once again the magic of photography reveals what the human eye nearly always misses.
Wonderful series. Nice when they cooperate for a long session.
It surely is, April. Wish it happened more often.
Brilliant work! From the antipodes, these are not familiar species, but there are remarkable similarities to our feathered friend down under.
Thanks heaps.
“there are remarkable similarities to our feathered friend down under”
Diana, my Aussie friend Elephant’s Child sometimes says something similar.
Thank you for this morning’s laugh! Love the rouse shots. New hairdoo indeed. Great photo series and one of my favorites.
Much appreciated, Pat.
First-class series of shots and commentary Ron – thanks!
Thanks on both counts, Burrdoo.
What a wonderful series. Thanks , for putting a smile on my face.
Kaye
Kaye, I’m always happy to add to the number of smiles out there.
One the very best Belted Kingfisher sequences I have ever seen!! Clearly shows how they have to turn the fish headfirst to swallow. Beautifully Done Ron!
Thanks, Jerry. Wasn’t that you up in the mountains this morning?
What a wonderful series. I thank you again for introducing me to the lovely belted kingfishers. Supposedly there are some along the stream in back of my local raptor rehab center, but I have yet to spot them. 🙁
Cathy, I looked for him again this morning but once again he was a no show.
🤣 GREAT series, Ron! The “stop action” of it all shows what one only gets a hint of in real time poop and all – had to make room for incoming…..😉 The contortions they can pull off are amazing.
“had to make room for incoming”
Judy, I wish I’d thought of that line when I was writing my post.
Loved this series! and your humor to explain it all!
Thanks on both counts, Terri.