![\"belted-kingfisher-0723-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/belted-kingfisher-0723-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI had some luck with another Belted Kingfisher yesterday morning and this time it was a male.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I photographed the bird at Farmington as it perched on an old post and fished the creek below. It was partially side-lit and the exposure was a little tricky with those bright whites facing the sun and the darks in shade but it was still fun to get fairly close to a kingfisher again. Most of the time the bird maintained this resting pose…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n but he did give me a couple of wing-stretches and this time he threw in an apparent\u00a0yawn for good measure.<\/p>\n Kingfishers have tiny irregular serrations\/projections along the length of both mandibles that are designed to hold fish and other slippery prey. Most of them are too small to see in this photo but apparently those closest to the mouth are larger and a few of them can be seen here on the left side of the mouth.\u00a0This is the first time I’ve noticed them in one of my photos. Those projections, combined with the extremely powerful jaws of the species, can make bird banders pay a steep price for the indignity the bird suffers while it’s in hand. Apparently it’s a painful experience when a kingfisher grabs your finger and because of those projections retrieving your digit from the mouth of the bird isn’t easy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Yesterday I was determined to get some takeoff shots of this bird. I wanted a minimum shutter speed of 1\/3200 sec so I set my ISO at 800 and tensely\u00a0waited. And waited – for what seemed like forever. Their takeoff is lightening-quick and I’ve nearly always missed it in the past but this time I was lucky enough to get a 3 image series of the launch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n I didn’t get the\u00a0most desirable\u00a0wing positions but I won’t complain too much about that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, canvas added for composition,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though I had to add a little canvas to this image for composition it’s still my favorite shot of the three.<\/p>\n Some of our kingfishers stick around for much of the winter so I hope to spend more time with them in the coming months.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had some luck with another Belted Kingfisher yesterday morning and this time it was a male.<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-0790-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/belted-kingfisher-0790-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"beltled-kingfisher-0811-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/beltled-kingfisher-0811-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-0812-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/belted-kingfisher-0812-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-0813-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/belted-kingfisher-0813-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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