The Belted Kingfisher is often seen perched prominently on trees, posts, or other suitable “watchpoints” close to water before plunging in head first after its fish prey. They also eat amphibians, small crustaceans, insects, small mammals and reptiles.
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Steve.. this has got to be one of my favorites!! Love it.. Thanks for sharing
My favorite family of birds. Saw all three two days running in the Rio Grande Valley last week.
Good catch. I am happy to see them again – missing them all summer long!
Thank you Steve. You never know how your photos are going to affect people. My 3rd grade teacher was an old spinster named(I kid you not) Miss Robbins, and was an avid bird lover. She gave us all bird identifying books at the beginning of the year and told us to,
throughout the year, see how many birds we could identify. No pressure, no tests, just awareness, and time consuming fun. I credit her for my love of birds to this day. One day a student shared pictures of a wonderful Kingfisher their father had caught on film on vacation. I was so mesmorized by this magnificent bird, it has always been a favorite. Thank you for bringing forth such a wonderful memory for me.
Thanks everyone!
Lili, you just made my day with the great comment you left. I also had a teacher that got the class involved in identifying birds. I thought it was great because we got to go outside but it was neat to be able to know what each bird was that I saw.
Every year our local Audubon Society (the Tahoma chapter) sponsors a bird drawing contest for school children. This year the belted kingfisher is one of three possible subjects. As I’ve searched for good, drawable representations that include habitat, yours is one of the best. I would love it if you would grant permission to use it as a model for my fourth and fifth graders who would like to try to draw it as their entry.
Alison, I would be honor if you would use my photo. I took that photo several years ago and have been trying to get a better one every since. I almost didn’t post that photo on my site because I didn’t like it. Several people have commented on it and so now I’m glad I didn’t trash it.
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