First Belted Kingfisher of the Year

I am pretty sure that Washingtonians love sunshine more than anybody else in the world, mostly because it’s such a rare commodity around here. Meteorologists tell us that last year we had 150% of normal precipitation here in the PNW. I can believe it. This winter is beginning exactly like last winter. So I am taking advantage of any sunshine I can get.

Yesterday was supposed to be sunny, but the fog was so heavy in the morning that I didn’t feel safe driving in it, much less feel confident that I could get any pictures. When the fog finally lifted around 10:30, I immediately headed down to the Pt. Defiance boathouse.

I actually got quite a few good photos, but the highlight of the day had to be these shots of a female Belted Kingfisher, a notoriously shy bird.

This one, however, seemed more than willing to pose as long as I was interested in taking shots.

female Belted KIngfisher

I ended up with over 50 shots, taken from a number of different angles.

female Belted KIngfisher

Heck, she even accommodated me by turning around 360° so I could shoot her other side,

female Belted KIngfisher

which seemed almost more beautiful, or, at the least, more brilliant.

8 thoughts on “First Belted Kingfisher of the Year”

  1. How I wish we had such gorgeously coloured birds here in the UK Loren – your photography is worthy of publication in a book – brilliant.

    1. Actually, I wish I could see YOUR Kingfisher; it looks even more dramatic than our variety.

  2. Love the detail in these photos. Kingfishers are birds that we often hear and see when visiting small lakes in the interior of BC, but I’ve never got this close of a look at one. I also love how the blue and rust colours of the sky and the metal echo the colours of the kingfisher.

    1. Thanks, Heather. Those rust colors are pure luck, but this is a favorite place to photograph the Kingfisher. It’s used enough to people that it doesn’t immediately fly away like the one at Theler Wetlands always does.

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