{"id":48724,"date":"2017-09-30T06:10:17","date_gmt":"2017-09-30T12:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=48724"},"modified":"2026-02-02T16:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:16:29","slug":"frustrations-in-bird-photography-belted-kingfisher-with-branches-in-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/30\/frustrations-in-bird-photography-belted-kingfisher-with-branches-in-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Frustrations in Bird Photography – Belted Kingfisher with Branches in the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FallFall Belted Kingfisher male – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyone who has ever tried to photograph birds knows that it can be a frustrating endeavor and I mean the hair pulling, sailor-cursing, foot stomping kind of frustration.<\/p>\n

Bird photography isn’t easy.<\/p>\n

I say that a lot and if I had a dollar for every time I said it I would be one rich bird photographer and I’d have to rent a storage unit for all the gear I would buy with that money.<\/p>\n

Most of the time I only post the “good” outtakes of my bird photography journey, today I am switching that up and writing about those frustrations by sharing these two photos that I took yesterday which frustrated me.<\/p>\n

The first frustration occurred when I heard a familiar rattle which was the call of a Belted Kingfisher flying in to a local pond where I was sitting photographing migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers.<\/p>\n

I caught sight of the kingfisher as it was flying in to a nearby tree.<\/p>\n

Slowly I raised my lens and got ready to photograph the blue belted beauty as it landed but then the bird and I both heard a sound that startled the kingfisher and made it turn sharply in flight so that it could fly to a tree that was further away to land.<\/p>\n

That sound? One of those screamer crotch-rocket motorcycles that the driver decided to make scream at the precise moment the kingfisher was going to land.<\/p>\n

#?!X@#. I cursed, yes, I cursed. I despise the sounds those crotch-rockets make and yesterday I learned to despise it even more.<\/p>\n

When the kingfisher landed on the tree that was further away I took a few images of it through some branches in the tree that was closest to me and wouldn’t you know it… there was a very frustrating, curved branch in front of its bill.<\/p>\n

The male kingfisher didn’t listen to me when I pleaded to him to move his bill either. I grumbled.<\/p>\n

My only hope at that time was that the kingfisher would take flight and that I’d be able to photograph him out in the open while in flight.<\/p>\n

\"BeltedBelted Kingfisher in flight – In Stealth Mode – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Belted Kingfisher did<\/em> take flight and I fired my camera as I saw it begin to lift off, hoping that I would get some nice flight shots.<\/p>\n

This… this is what I got. The Belted Kingfisher in a dynamic flight pose, wings fully extended, nice light, great eye contact and the kingfisher was calling with<\/em> out of focus branches in front<\/em> of the bird.<\/p>\n

It was almost as if the bird was flying in stealth mode. Oh how I wish those branches had not been in the way.<\/p>\n

I never did get any decent shots of the Belted Kingfisher<\/span><\/a> yesterday but I am glad to know he is back at the pond and that I should have more opportunities with him. That is if<\/em> nothing gets in the way. So I will say it again, bird photography isn’t easy.<\/p>\n

Maybe “Frustrations in Bird Photography” should be a regular Saturday feature here on my blog.<\/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":"

I never did get any decent shots of the Belted Kingfisher yesterday but I am glad to know he is back at the pond and that I should have more opportunities with him… if nothing gets in the way. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168387,"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":[500,27,709,26],"tags":[4004,2432,4620,4052,1023,4934,4933,4062,3008,6152,10698,4104,1984,8018,17117],"class_list":["post-48724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belted-kingfishers","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-belted-kingfisher","tag-fall","tag-flight","tag-frustrations-in-bird-photography1","tag-kingfisher","tag-kingfishers","tag-male","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-obstructions","tag-park","tag-perched","tag-pond","tag-urban","tag-winchester-pond-park"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-stealth-mode-mia-mcpherson-0456.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cFS","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":48724,"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":102733,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/28\/spring-male-belted-kingfisher-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":48724,"position":1},"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":109609,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/14\/low-light-female-belted-kingfisher\/","url_meta":{"origin":48724,"position":2},"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":116982,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/13\/bird-battle-belted-kingfisher-vs-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":48724,"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":59048,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/07\/16\/male-belted-kingfisher-surveying-his-mountain-canyon-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":48724,"position":4},"title":"Male Belted Kingfisher Surveying His Mountain Canyon Home","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in early June I had the opportunity to photograph a male Belted Kingfisher up close high in the Wasatch Mountains but due to circumstances beyond my control I missed those shots.","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 in a mountain canyon, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-perched-creek-mia-mcpherson-0694.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-kingfisher-male-perched-creek-mia-mcpherson-0694.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-perched-creek-mia-mcpherson-0694.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-perched-creek-mia-mcpherson-0694.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":48724,"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\/48724","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=48724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}