{"id":97786,"date":"2021-11-30T05:52:04","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T12:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=97786"},"modified":"2021-11-30T06:01:44","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T13:01:44","slug":"male-belted-kingfisher-in-the-uk-hes-a-long-way-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/30\/male-belted-kingfisher-in-the-uk-hes-a-long-way-from-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Male Belted Kingfisher In The UK – He’s A Long Way From Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Belted Kingfisher rattling – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Birds have wings and at times they wander out of their natural ranges. That is a fact. I myself have found birds that that have been a bit to a lot out of their normal ranges on more than one occasion. I’m always excited when I find a bird well out of its range.<\/p>\n

I’ve been following an amazing sighting of a male Belted Kingfisher in Lancashire, UK for about a week now, it is only the 4th such sighting for that country. It was found on November 15th at the Brockholes nature reserve in Preston.<\/p>\n

Belted Kingfishers are found<\/span><\/a> throughout North, Central, and the very northernmost parts of South America. They are short to long distance migrants depending on their breeding range and the availability of open water. Here in Utah I see them all year round but in the winter I see them less often and that is probably because it gets cold enough here to ice over some of the ponds I visit in the field. The male Belted Kingfisher in the photo above was photographed in the Wasatch Mountains east of where I live in Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n

It does boggle my mind when I think about the journey that the Belted Kingfisher in the UK had to make to arrive there. From St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, an easternmost point of North America, to Lancashire, UK it is 2,184 miles as a crow flies and most of that is over the Atlantic Ocean. I suppose the Belted Kingfisher could have stopped off at Greenland and Iceland on its way to the UK but that would have meant the kingfisher veered way to the north. At any rate, the Belted Kingfisher had to fly an extremely long way without stopping. Perhaps it stopped over in Ireland or Scotland and simply wasn’t seen there.<\/p>\n

I found a write up by the man who found the Belted Kingfisher in the UK. In case you’d like to read what he wrote about finding this rarity it can be seen here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

I chuckled when I read this part:<\/p>\n

I then suddenly had that gut wrenching feeling \u201cI need a picture or at least someone else here to confirm I wasn\u2019t actually going insane\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I know how the man must have felt because I’ve felt that way myself at times. What a fantastic find.<\/p>\n

There is also an article about the Belted Kingfisher in the UK in the Daily Mail<\/span><\/a>. The person who wrote the article obviously didn’t look up the range maps for Belted Kingfishers or they wouldn’t have written “It is normally a native of Florida” but perhaps the reporter was as excited about this find as the birders in the UK are. This article has a photo of the Belted Kingfisher perched above a smaller, native Common Kingfisher.<\/p>\n

The Belted Kingfisher will find plenty of fish to eat in the UK. I wonder though if it will try to fly back to North America when spring arrives. Who knows what will happen with this kingfisher when the weather warms up across the pond.<\/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’ve been following an amazing sighting of a male Belted Kingfisher in Lancashire, UK for about a week now, it is only the 4th such sighting for that country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97781,"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":[4004,2432,4897,12601,3940,3843,4934,12599,4062,3008,4069,4104,12602,9626,12600,165,12598,4176],"class_list":["post-97786","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-brockholes-nature-reserve","tag-canyon","tag-creek","tag-kingfisher","tag-lancashire","tag-male","tag-megaceryle-alcyon","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-preston","tag-riparian-habitat","tag-river-ribble","tag-spring","tag-uk","tag-wasatch-mountains"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/belted-kingfisher-male-rattling-mia-mcpherson-7704.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-prc","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":97786,"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":116982,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/13\/bird-battle-belted-kingfisher-vs-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":97786,"position":1},"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":108672,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/11\/queenfisher-2023-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":97786,"position":2},"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":70964,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/06\/19\/in-my-viewfinder-belted-kingfisher-male-up-close\/","url_meta":{"origin":97786,"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":87960,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/05\/16\/male-belted-kingfisher-with-his-catch-of-the-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":97786,"position":4},"title":"Male Belted Kingfisher With His Catch Of The Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Three days ago I watched as a male Belted Kingfisher caught a small fish, landed on a branch and swallowed his catch of the day high in the Wasatch 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":"Male Belted Kingfisher with a fish in his bill, 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-7156.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-7156.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-7156.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-7156.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":97786,"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, 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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97786","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=97786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}