![\"belted-kingfisher-4087-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4087-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI’ve been pretty lucky at documenting Belted Kingfishers casting pellets. I know bird photographers who photograph kingfishers regularly who were unaware that they produce pellets at all (many bird species do not) but three days ago at Farmington I documented the behavior for the third time. Some of the photos aren’t of the highest quality but I got the behavior and I’m quite satisfied with that.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, 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 found my old friend the male Belted Kingfisher on a natural perch this time instead of his favorite wooden post next to the creek. He was still fishing the same creek but from a little further away and higher up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, 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 When he started to retch I knew he might throw a pellet so I hoped to get lucky and capture it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, 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 wish the bird’s head had been on the other side of the branch but the timing worked out so I was still able to see the pellet in each frame. Here we see the pellet at the front of the throat and about to be expelled.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, 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 In the next frame the pellet has barely cleared the branch…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, 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 and then it dropped to the ground.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 640, 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 After that it didn’t take long for him to take off and…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/8, 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 fish from his favorite perch just over a hundred yards away (I moved my pickup closer to the bird to get this shot). Within just a few minutes he caught two small fish and with this one he landed on a different but nearby post before swallowing it.<\/p>\n Pellet production in this species is interesting and complex. Like most fish-eating birds kingfishers don’t have a crop\u00a0and their gizzard is unfit for vigorous grinding so adults must produce pellets of indigestible materials like fish scales and bones and expel them. However, kingfisher nestlings can and do digest the scales and bones so they don’t produce pellets until the fledge. This suggests that gastric fluids change from acid to alkaline at the time of fledging.<\/p>\n In addition, researchers can determine the age of fish consumed by kingfishers by counting the growth rings in the scales found in their pellets.<\/p>\n Pretty neat stuff if you ask me…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’ve been pretty lucky at documenting Belted Kingfishers casting pellets.<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-4135-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4135-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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![\"belted-kingfisher-4145-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4145-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-4146-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4146-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-4147-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4147-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-4204-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4204-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"belted-kingfisher-4333-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/belted-kingfisher-4333-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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