{"id":48480,"date":"2017-09-16T05:37:35","date_gmt":"2017-09-16T11:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=48480"},"modified":"2024-09-02T06:25:39","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T11:25:39","slug":"male-belted-kingfisher-in-winter-at-farmington-bay-wma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/16\/male-belted-kingfisher-in-winter-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Belted Kingfisher in Winter at Farmington Bay WMA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Male Belted Kingfisher<\/h2>\n

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher with prey in his bill – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 320, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

We had a real gully washer rain here in the Salt Lake Valley yesterday which we needed badly and it also snowed in the mountains. From the photos I saw up there it looked like winter even though it isn’t. The snow in the high country is just a small taste of what is to come when it is actually winter but it made me think about some of the birds I find, observe and photograph in the northern Utah winters.<\/p>\n

Belted Kingfishers are year round residents in northern Utah but my best opportunities to photograph them at Farmington Bay WMA are during the winter. Last December there was a male Belted Kingfisher that hung around the WMA and gave me and many other photographers lots of opportunities to photograph him as he fished, ate, preened, rested and allowed us to capture his beauty.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher shaking his feathers – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 320, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

These first two images were taken on November 22, 2016 when there was no snow on the ground. The kingfisher had a favorite perch by a small stream that he fished in, he could easily see down into the water and would dive after prey when he saw it. These birds will stay in the area until the water ices over and then they move on until they come to open water again. Their primary prey items are fish but they also will eat crustaceans such as crayfish, mollusks, insects, amphibians, reptiles, small birds and small fruits like berries.<\/p>\n

\"WinterWinter snow and a male Belted Kingfisher – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

These last two images were taken December 2, 2016 when there was a thick blanket of snow on the ground and the kingfisher is on the same perch as the first two photos. The post the bird is perched on looks a but lighter in these photos because it was dry, in the first two images the post had been soaked by rain or melting snow which made it appear darker.<\/p>\n

Just looking at these photo allows me to “hear” the rattling call of the Belted Kingfishers that I adore listening to so much even though it usually means the birds are flying away from me at that point. They are skittish subjects.<\/p>\n

Listen to the calls of an interacting pair of Belted Kingfishers here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher and snow – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 250, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope that this male Belted Kingfisher or another male or female decide to visit and stay at Farmington Bay WMA again this winter because not only are they handsome birds they are quite fun to observe and challenging to photograph. They aren’t there every year so I am keeping my fingers crossed.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Belted Kingfisher photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belted Kingfishers are year round residents in northern Utah but my best opportunities to photograph them at Farmington Bay WMA are during the winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[500,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[4004,2432,4916,4432,4934,4933,4062,4094,3008,4104,4394,4106,4050,4095,373,8917],"class_list":["post-48480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belted-kingfishers","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-belted-kingfisher","tag-crest","tag-fish","tag-kingfisher","tag-kingfishers","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-perched","tag-post","tag-prey","tag-snow","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/belted-kingfisher-winter-male-mia-mcpherson-8032.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cBW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108672,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/11\/queenfisher-2023-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":48480,"position":0},"title":"Queenfisher – 2023 ABA Bird of the Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2023 ABA Bird of the Year was revealed yesterday evening. The bird of the year is the Queenfisher, also known as the female Belted Kingfisher.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Belted Kingfisher on her throne, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/belted-kingfisher-female-farmington-bay-mia-mcpherson-9262.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109609,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/14\/low-light-female-belted-kingfisher\/","url_meta":{"origin":48480,"position":1},"title":"Low Light Female Belted Kingfisher","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I found a perched female Belted Kingfisher while I was at Farmington Bay WMA two days ago. This was after the clouds came back in creating low light conditions.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Low light female Belted Kingfisher on a branch, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/belted-kingfisher-female-cool-mia-mcpherson-8253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/belted-kingfisher-female-cool-mia-mcpherson-8253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/belted-kingfisher-female-cool-mia-mcpherson-8253.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/belted-kingfisher-female-cool-mia-mcpherson-8253.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":102733,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/28\/spring-male-belted-kingfisher-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":48480,"position":2},"title":"Spring Male Belted Kingfisher Portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I took my first of year male Belted Kingfisher portrait photos three days ago high in the Wasatch Mountains when this bird flew in close to me.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male Belted Kingfisher portrait, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belted-kingfisher-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belted-kingfisher-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belted-kingfisher-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8772.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/belted-kingfisher-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8772.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116982,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/13\/bird-battle-belted-kingfisher-vs-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":48480,"position":3},"title":"Bird Battle: Belted Kingfisher vs. Merlin","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Little did I know that on my last trip up into the Wasatch Mountains, that I would witness a battle between a Belted Kingfisher and my first-of-season Merlin.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Belted Kingfisher bothering a Merlin, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/belted-kingfisher-merlin-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2553.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/belted-kingfisher-merlin-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2553.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/belted-kingfisher-merlin-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2553.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/belted-kingfisher-merlin-wasatch-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2553.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112942,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/26\/missing-my-time-in-the-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":48480,"position":4},"title":"Missing My Time In The Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been missing springtime in the mountains. There is so much snow up there from this past winter that most of the mountain roads I use are still closed.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Belted Kingfishers after mating in the mountains, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfishers-mating-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-4987.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfishers-mating-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-4987.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfishers-mating-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-4987.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfishers-mating-summit-county-mia-mcpherson-4987.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119907,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/18\/male-belted-kingfisher-in-my-memories\/","url_meta":{"origin":48480,"position":5},"title":"Male Belted Kingfisher In My Memories","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing a male Belted Kingfisher photo that I took one year ago today. I was photographing ducks at one of my local ponds when he flew in.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Belted Kingfisher on a sunny January morning, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/belted-kingfisher-male-winter-mia-mcpherson-8514.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/belted-kingfisher-male-winter-mia-mcpherson-8514.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/belted-kingfisher-male-winter-mia-mcpherson-8514.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/belted-kingfisher-male-winter-mia-mcpherson-8514.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}