![\"belted](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/belted-kingfisher-2765-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI was hoping this female Belted Kingfisher would catch a fish and eat it close enough to me for good photos. She did not disappoint.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I photographed her two days ago near the Jordan River as she repeatedly dived for fish. Only one time did she bring her meal in close enough on a perch that was relatively unobstructed to my view and I took many photos as she battered the fish against the branch she’s perched on, tossed it around a little and eventually swallowed it. This is one of my favorite images of the series because of the nice look at the coiled and struggling\u00a0fish, the good light on the bird, the clutter in the background isn’t too distracting for my tastes and I like the raised left foot. I also like the little clues in the image that give hints as to what’s going on – the slimy wet spot on the perch where the kingfisher was slamming the fish into the branch in order to kill it and even the tiny water droplet falling off the left wingtip.<\/p>\n Some will notice the somewhat unusual eel-like shape of the fish. It’s a Weather Loach, an invasive\u00a0fish species popular with aquarists and presumably released into the river when their owners\u00a0could no longer care for them. Weather\u00a0Loaches are\u00a0now\u00a0found in many of the fresh water streams and ponds near the Great Salt Lake. I first reported them here<\/a> on one of my earliest blog posts – they have some very interesting natural history.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A huge crop of the previous image reveals a somewhat unique adaptation of the Belted Kingfisher. Notice that the two outer toes (most easily seen here in the raised left foot) are fused together almost to the claws which results in what appears to be a single, long, flattened toe with a broad sole in common (this\u00a0trait is known as syndactyly).\u00a0It provides a more robust digit that kingfishers use to dig their nesting burrows in the banks of streams. Pretty neat!<\/p>\n Sometime soon I plan on posting an entire series of this\u00a0bird with the loach that includes some images of\u00a0kingfisher fishing technique but that will have to wait until I finish my image culling and processing – in this case a daunting task.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was hoping this female Belted Kingfisher would catch a fish and eat it close enough to me for good photos. She did not disappoint.<\/p>\n![\"belted](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/belted-kingfisher-2765-big-crop-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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