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<\/p>\nThis has been Utah’s warmest December on record and the last two weeks have been overcast and increasingly warm so I’ve been just staying home. But two days ago, when the clouds cleared out and it finally turned cold, I decided to head for the west desert where I haven’t been for months.<\/p>\n
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When I arrived on location at dawn the temp was 15\u00b0 F. and the light was gorgeous so I had high hopes of finding birds – especially raptors who had migrated down from the north. But 2 1\/2 hours later as I prepared to head for home I’d been thoroughly and completely skunked. All I had for my efforts was a few poor-quality documentary photos and a boat load of frustration. By the time I arrived home I’d been gone for nearly six hours and driven 256 miles with almost nothing to show for it.<\/p>\n
And things were about to get worse. Notice that in the photo above, my windshield directly above my passenger’s side windshield wiper has no damage.<\/p>\n
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This is what my windshield looked like when I arrived home. Even though I’m almost neurotic about avoiding driving behind big trucks on the freeway for fear of windshield damage, a big orange Allied Van Lines truck spit out a big rock as I was passing it and this was the result.<\/p>\n
I had a new windshield installed yesterday. Because of the advanced safety system electronics (such as collision avoidance), including cameras, embedded in the windshields of many newer vehicles, windshield replacement can cost as much as $2000. Mine would have cost me about $1500 (calibrating advanced safety systems to factory specs isn’t cheap), but thankfully I had my insurance set up with a $200 deductible for a new windshield, so that’s what it cost me.<\/p>\n
A word to the wise about setting up your vehicle insurance. If you have the option, consider paying a little extra for a “low” deductible for glass damage.<\/p>\n
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Birds are so scarce around here it’ll be a while before I go on any more long birding trips. So yesterday I made two short trips down to the Jordan River near my home, mostly in search of the female Belted Kingfisher who hangs out down there.<\/p>\n
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She was there both times but she sure as hell wasn’t very cooperative. She insisted on fishing from perches that were blocked by twigs and branches that weren’t very close to me. This time my only hope was to get her in flight when she dived on a fish.<\/p>\n
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But the annoying twigs still put the kibosh on me.<\/p>\n
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I got some pretty good photos of her while she was fishing from this spot but what I wanted most were flight shots.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/belted-kingfisher-3511-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"belted-kingfisher-3511-ron-dudley\\"")
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Those hopes were dashed when I didn’t get any light in her eye.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/belted-kingfisher-3466-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"belted-kingfisher-3466-ron-dudley\\"")
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I’d have liked this shot pretty well if I’d only been a little closer.<\/p>\n
That’s how it goes with bird photography. And with driving on the freeway at 75 mph with big trucks on the road.<\/p>\n
Happy New Year to my blog followers. May your 2026 be significantly better than my last few days have been.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Female Belted Kingfisher to the rescue. (7 photos)<\/p>\n