During a visit in late January to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was thrilled to spot a female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). The kingfisher was perched relatively in the brush a pretty good distance away and surprisingly did not seem to be aware of my presence. Normally kingfishers are really skittish and often fly away before I am within the range of my camera.
This kingfisher seemed to be a little distracted by a helicopter that was flying overhead and kept glancing upwards, as you can see in the second photo. The chestnut-colored stripe on the breast of the bird helps me to identify it as a female, because males have no such stripe.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
In the first and last images, she looks pretty serene. Nice capture!
Thanks, Nina. It is always fun to observe kingfishers. This one did not seem as “jumpy” as most of the others that I have seen, with the exception of her checking out the helicopter.
Wow!