{"id":59048,"date":"2019-07-16T04:57:45","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T10:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=59048"},"modified":"2026-02-03T06:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T12:21:09","slug":"male-belted-kingfisher-surveying-his-mountain-canyon-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/07\/16\/male-belted-kingfisher-surveying-his-mountain-canyon-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Belted Kingfisher Surveying His Mountain Canyon Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher in a mountain canyon – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in early June I had the opportunity to photograph a male Belted Kingfisher up close high in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> but due to circumstances beyond my control I missed those shots.<\/p>\n

It was early in the morning and when I drove near a creek I could see the male kingfisher perched on a dead tree close to the road so I focused on driving up to him very slowly hoping that I wouldn’t cause him to take flight.<\/p>\n

When I stopped my Jeep and turned off the engine the kingfisher held steady on his perch and I reached for my camera, raised it and started to lock my focus on the bird sitting out in the beautiful morning light.<\/p>\n

I’d been so focused on the bird that I didn’t notice another vehicle coming up the road behind me which promptly flushed the kingfisher as it passed my Jeep before I could fire a shot. A few curse words were said.<\/p>\n

The male Belted Kingfisher moved further away from me in my Jeep but I was still able to take a few images of him on the perch he landed on with emerald green shrubbery in the background.<\/p>\n

I wish I’d been able to have a few more seconds with the kingfisher before that vehicle came by and flushed it because I know those photos would have been beautiful but I do accept that there will be frustrations when it comes to bird photography because it is part of the territory.<\/p>\n

Today, more than a month later, I can still see this male Belted Kingfisher lit up and gorgeous on that first closer perch in my mind’s eye and I wish I could share images of him on it surveying his mountain canyon home.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good even when it is frustrating.<\/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":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[500,27,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,2432,3940,3843,1023,4934,4933,4062,3008,6481,4104],"class_list":["post-59048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belted-kingfishers","category-avian","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-belted-kingfisher","tag-canyon","tag-creek","tag-frustrations-in-bird-photography1","tag-kingfisher","tag-kingfishers","tag-male","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-mountain","tag-perched"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-perched-creek-mia-mcpherson-0694.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-fmo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":102733,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/05\/28\/spring-male-belted-kingfisher-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":59048,"position":0},"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":58067,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/21\/female-belted-kingfisher-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":59048,"position":1},"title":"Female Belted Kingfisher in the Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The nicest surprise of the morning was when a female Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch close to a creek and the road.","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 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-female-creek-mia-mcpherson-9851.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-female-creek-mia-mcpherson-9851.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-female-creek-mia-mcpherson-9851.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-female-creek-mia-mcpherson-9851.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69002,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/25\/focusing-on-belted-kingfishers-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":59048,"position":2},"title":"Focusing On Belted Kingfishers High In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent yesterday morning high up in the Wasatch Mountains where part of the time I focused on photographing the Belted Kingfishers that I found in two counties.","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 Kingfisher male in flight, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-flight-mia-mcpherson-6607.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-flight-mia-mcpherson-6607.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-flight-mia-mcpherson-6607.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-flight-mia-mcpherson-6607.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":70964,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/06\/19\/in-my-viewfinder-belted-kingfisher-male-up-close\/","url_meta":{"origin":59048,"position":3},"title":"In My Viewfinder: Belted Kingfisher Male Up Close","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It is always a thrill when birds fly in close to me and that is what happened yesterday with a handsome male 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":"Male Belted Kingfisher close up, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-7262.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-mia-mcpherson-7262.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-7262.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-7262.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71524,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/04\/adult-male-belted-kingfisher-with-his-freshly-caught-fish\/","url_meta":{"origin":59048,"position":4},"title":"Adult Male Belted Kingfisher With His Freshly Caught Fish","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The male Belted Kingfisher had been perched 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.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Belted Kingfisher male with a small fish, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-with-fish-mia-mcpherson-4265.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-with-fish-mia-mcpherson-4265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-with-fish-mia-mcpherson-4265.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-with-fish-mia-mcpherson-4265.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89925,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/05\/male-belted-kingfisher-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":59048,"position":5},"title":"Male Belted Kingfisher Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am sharing four male Belted Kingfisher photos that I have taken this spring in the Wasatch Mountains starting with one that I took yesterday morning.","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 Kingfisher male in front of yellow wildflowers, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2232.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-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2232.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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