{"id":69002,"date":"2020-04-25T05:27:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-25T11:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=69002"},"modified":"2026-02-03T07:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:01:17","slug":"focusing-on-belted-kingfishers-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/25\/focusing-on-belted-kingfishers-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Focusing On Belted Kingfishers High In The Wasatch Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent yesterday morning high up in the Wasatch Mountains<\/span><\/a> where part of the time I focused on photographing the Belted Kingfishers that I found in two counties.<\/p>\n

\"CallingCalling female Belted Kingfisher high in the Wasatch Mountains – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I had stopped to look for small migrant birds in a stand of leafless willows when I heard the chattering of this female Belted Kingfisher not far from where I had parked my Jeep.<\/p>\n

Then I turned the engine back on and moved forward just enough to have a clear view of her. As my “mobile blind” moved forward she turned her back towards me but I was able to take lots of photos of her when she turned her head.<\/p>\n

When she called another distant Belted Kingfisher would reply. I never did see the kingfisher that responded to her calls.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Belted Kingfisher perched over a mountain pond – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The female Belted Kingfisher was perched on a branch that hangs over a pond that was created by beavers that have been busy building dams in the area for several years.<\/p>\n

Just a tiny bit of her rusty belly feathers are shown in this photo near her left wing and the branch she is perched on.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher swallowing a fish – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the morning and in a different county I had parked near a creek to sit, watch and wait to see if any migrating birds would fly in when some movement caught my eye.<\/p>\n

A male Belted Kingfisher had flown in with a small fish and perched where I could photograph him. By the time I got my camera raised and focused on him the fish was no longer visible in his bill but he was still in the process of swallowing it.<\/p>\n

\"BeltedBelted Kingfisher male in flight – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 400, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Because it was getting to be later in the morning the vehicle and foot traffic was getting heavier on the muddy road and when a group of people walked past where I was parked the male kingfisher lifted off and flew to another perch near the creek but farther from the road.<\/p>\n

I took a few more photos of him on the new perch and some of a Turkey Vulture that floated by over the mountains.<\/p>\n

Since the sun was starting to get high in the sky I thanked the kingfisher and started to head towards home. It was a wonderful, sunny, peaceful, and very relaxing morning. I’m very glad that I decided to head up into the mountains.<\/p>\n

I also photographed some Uinta Ground Squirrels yesterday morning and I will share some of those photos tomorrow along with the stories behind the images.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Stay safe.<\/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 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168418,"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":[500,27,4594,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,9779,2344,2432,4897,6577,4072,3940,3843,4070,4432,4052,4122,4934,4933,4062,3008,4069,4104,1984,5549,30],"class_list":["post-69002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-belted-kingfishers","category-avian","category-morgan-county","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-beaver","tag-beaver-pond","tag-belted-kingfisher","tag-branch","tag-branches","tag-calling","tag-canyon","tag-creek","tag-female","tag-fish","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-kingfisher","tag-kingfishers","tag-male","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-pond","tag-swallowing","tag-utah-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-flight-mia-mcpherson-6607.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-hWW","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":69002,"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":112942,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/26\/missing-my-time-in-the-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":69002,"position":1},"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, 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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":69002,"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":58067,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/05\/21\/female-belted-kingfisher-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":69002,"position":4},"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":91937,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/07\/09\/immature-and-adult-male-belted-kingfisher-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":69002,"position":5},"title":"Immature And Adult Male Belted Kingfisher Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago I was delighted to have both an immature and an adult male Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder as I sat next to a creek in the mountains.","rel":"","context":"In "Belted Kingfishers"","block_context":{"text":"Belted Kingfishers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/kingfishers\/belted-kingfishers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Excited adult male Belted Kingfisher, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, 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