{"id":70964,"date":"2020-06-19T04:57:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T10:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=70964"},"modified":"2026-02-03T07:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:19:53","slug":"in-my-viewfinder-belted-kingfisher-male-up-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/06\/19\/in-my-viewfinder-belted-kingfisher-male-up-close\/","title":{"rendered":"In My Viewfinder: Belted Kingfisher Male Up Close"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher perched over a creek – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

It is always a thrill when birds fly in close to me and that is what happened yesterday with a handsome male Belted Kingfisher.<\/p>\n

In fact my experience yesterday may be the closest I have been to a wild kingfisher since 2009 when I walked underneath of where a female kingfisher was perched on a snag on Honeymoon Island State Park in central Florida.<\/p>\n

That time all I could do was take photos from under the kingfisher but yesterday I had wonderful, eye level views of the male kingfisher as he perched on a branch overhanging a creek and as he scanned for prey in the water below.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher close up – Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1600, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The Belted Kingfisher was photographed in an area of the Wasatch Mountains where there is a lot of traffic, vehicles rumble past all the time along with hikers, bikers, walkers, joggers and their dogs.<\/p>\n

Over time I believe the kingfisher has become accustomed to the presence of humans near the creek where he hunts at times.<\/p>\n

I had several opportunities to have this Belted Kingfisher in my viewfinder yesterday from a long and mid-range distances and up close.<\/p>\n

He was very cooperative and I took so many images of him that I haven’t had time to go through them all. I’m sure I will be sharing more images of him in the future.<\/p>\n

I can easily remember the frustrations I have had with Belted Kingfishers<\/span><\/a> in the past, how skittish they can be and that many times the photos I took of them showed them simply flying away.<\/p>\n

This male made my morning even better when he decided to allow me such great close up views.<\/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

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is always a thrill when birds fly in close to me and that is what happened yesterday with a handsome male Belted Kingfisher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":168424,"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":[4004,2432,4897,3940,4142,3843,4934,4933,4062,3008,4069,4104,9626,165,6707],"class_list":["post-70964","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-branch","tag-canyon","tag-close-up","tag-creek","tag-kingfisher","tag-kingfishers","tag-male","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-riparian-habitat","tag-spring","tag-up-close"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-male-mia-mcpherson-7262.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-isA","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":70964,"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, 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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":69002,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/04\/25\/focusing-on-belted-kingfishers-high-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":70964,"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":91937,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/07\/09\/immature-and-adult-male-belted-kingfisher-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":70964,"position":3},"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, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/beleted-kingfisher-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/beleted-kingfisher-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/beleted-kingfisher-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-0494.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/beleted-kingfisher-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-0494.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":70964,"position":4},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2232.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/belted-kingfisher-mountains-mia-mcpherson-2232.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":70964,"position":5},"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, 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