Winter kingfisher

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Winter kingfisher

February 3, 2017 by Mike Powell

With stealth and patience I can get relatively close to some birds, but Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) remain elusive, skittish, and difficult to capture. I was fortunate to get some long distance shots of a handsome male kingfisher (males have no chestnut-colored stripe on their chests) last weekend in the trees overlooking Lake Cook in Alexandria, Virginia.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, Canon 50D, kingfisher, Lake Cook, male Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm | 11 Comments

11 Responses

on February 3, 2017 at 6:46 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Great shots of a hard to catch subject!
- on February 3, 2017 at 6:51 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Victor. I took these shots across a small pond. Alas, there was no way to get closer to the kingfisher, but I was fortunate that there was pretty good light, so I was able to capture some detail while shooting at 600mm.
on February 3, 2017 at 7:42 am | Reply Adrian Lewis

Yes, beautiful portraits.
on February 3, 2017 at 9:57 am | Reply waltersanford

Looks like you enjoyed a little near-home cooking at Lake Cook!
on February 3, 2017 at 10:33 am | Reply bkcitta

Very nice!!!
on February 3, 2017 at 12:11 pm | Reply svtakeiteasy

Great shots and very sharp!
- on February 3, 2017 at 3:21 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris. we’ve had so many gray days this winter with limited light that it was a thrill to have a bit of sunlight, which definitely helped me to focus better.
on February 3, 2017 at 6:20 pm | Reply shoreacres

I was surprised to learn that the chestnut stripe doesn’t belong to the male. They’re usually the fancy ones! The photos are really quite nice. Even when I try to watch them without a camera, they’re hard to keep an eye on.
- on February 4, 2017 at 7:25 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. Indeed the males usually have the most color, but the Belted Kingfisher is a notable exception. If these birds did not make a rattling call, I’d have trouble spotting them.
on February 3, 2017 at 6:35 pm | Reply laura lecce

I love these photos Mike! What a cute and spunky little bird. The blue colouring is fantastic.
- on February 4, 2017 at 7:26 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Laura. I love kingfishers. The drabness of the winter landscape and the absence of leaves really help to make the kingfisher’s beautiful blue body stand out.