Here’s another bird I don’t see nearly often enough: a belted kingfisher. These birds are found throughout Washington State, never far from water, where it hunts for food. If my bird book has guided me correctly, this is a female. Don’t you love that punk topknot?
Lucky you. I haven’t seen a Kingfisher for years.
He looks like a punk rocker!
These are extraordinary birds. I love all the Kingfisher poems, of which there are many! Hope you like this one:
Kingfisher – Poem by David Wood
The sudden flash of delicate blue
That lightning strike of wondrous true
There, gone in the blink of an eye,
And no matter how hard you try,
The only evidence were the rings
Of bright water that sweetly sings.
It is very rarely seen sitting ghostly
On a low slung branch, or twig, mostly
Just above the waters edge,
Or on their perch just above the ledge
And to return with their kill
To bash to death with their bill.
And swallow whole their gotten gain,
Small fry, tadpole or molluscs strain
Their way down to the depths.
I saw one once standing on the steps,
Near Rhayder, on the river Wye,
It flew off before I could say good-bye.
David Wood
I love it when I find a kingfisher willing to pose for me. That’s very rare!
Great shot! I can’t recall ever seeing one of these. I don’t think they live in Florida but I could be wrong. Love his haircut; pretty much in style from what I see on Teevee! 🙂
P.S. You were only the 2nd person to notice the fauxness of the horse in my post yesterday! 🙂
Lucky you – great photo. They are hard to find sitting still – as the others have said. I have tried for years and years to get a vivid picture of one – finally did it this summer. Love the composition of the photo.
Very hard to capture them sitting still, so lucky you!
Nice one. I got a different kind of kingfisher in South Africa and was really happy.