I was looking across the water of a small pond at my local marsh, enjoying the beautiful early morning reflections, when a bright white flash zoomed across my field of view and stopped in the middle of the water.
Initially I had no clue about what it might be, but when I looked through my telephoto lens, I could see that it was a female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). I had never before seen a kingfisher perched so low to the water and it was pretty obvious that she was not fishing. As I watched from a distance, she went through what I assume is her morning routine, as she twisted and turned and fluffed up her feathers.
Before long, the kingfisher flew off to a higher perch in a more distant tree, where I suspect she busied herself with the task of catching some fish for her breakfast.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 