Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) have a distinctive chattering call and I hear these skittish little birds more often than I see them. Often my first indication of their presence is their call as they fly away from me.
Normally I see a single kingfisher at a time, but Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I watched and listened as two kingfishers loudly chased each other around through the trees and over the water. I did not get a really good look at them, because they never flew or perched close to me, but it appeared to me that they were both females. Female Belted Kingfishers have a chestnut-colored strip across their chests that males do not have, one of the few bird species that I know of in which the females are more colorful than the males.
These kingfishers are small and fast, but I managed to capture a few in-flight shots. I particularly like the first image, in which the sunlight helped to illuminate the underside of the kingfisher as she extended her wings fully as she flew through what I believe is a tulip tree. In the second photo there was more of a shadow on the bird, but I like the angle of view that I had as I pointed my camera upwards as the kingfisher zoomed by me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I particularly like the first shot, very nice 😁😁.
Great photos, Mike.
Merry Christmas.
Great photos of this speedy bird, Mike. I was leading a couple of visitors on a walk at our wetlands the other day, and they were utterly amazed at a belted kingfisher hovering over the water ‘like a hummingbird’!
Merry Christmas! These are great shots. Thank you for all your sharing!