Adult male Belted Kingfisher with prey – Nikon D500, f8, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I was originally going to write about and share photos of the five Belted Kingfishers I saw two days ago in the Wasatch Mountains but decided instead to focus today on just the adult male that I saw catch a nice little fish for his breakfast.
The male Belted Kingfisher had been perched on a branch near a creek and without warning dove into the water, caught a fish, returned to his perch, and ate it all within close proximity to where I sat in my Jeep.
When the kingfisher landed it took me a millisecond to lock my focus on him so I missed him landing on the branch. He must have been hungry because he didn’t waste any time getting the small fish situated in his bill so that he could easily swallow it head first. But before he did I was able to take a few photos where both the male kingfisher and the fish were looking directly towards me.
Adult Belted Kingfisher male with a small fish – Nikon D500, f8, 1/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I’m not sure what the small fish is, it could be a young introduced Brown or Rainbow trout, one of the young of our native Bonneville cutthroat trout or something else entirely.
Later on I was able to hear but not see this male kingfisher feeding one of his recently fledged young after a successful dive into the cold water of the creek.
It was an interesting morning because when I first pulled up and stopped my Jeep at the creek I counted a total five kingfishers within my view. Three of the kingfishers were close enough to identify as two juveniles and the adult male. The other two Belted Kingfishers were further away and I didn’t scope them with my lens because I had subjects right in front of me that I wanted to take images of. I suspect that the two kingfishers in the distance were the female and another juvenile.
I plan on sharing some of the images of the young Belted Kingfishers I photographed sometime in the near future.
Life is good. Stay safe.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Belted Kingfisher photos plus facts and information about this species.
Life is definitely good – unless you are a small fish.
I’m so used to seeing images of Belted Kingfishers from the side and with their crest up. He looks so odd to me without his spiky hairdo! So glad it appears that he and his mate have had a successful breeding season. 🙂
Exceptional treat to find the whole family! I look forward to more photos.
Terrific!
Great photos.
Great lphotos. Mia