A little birb told me we’ll be treated to some spectacular bird photos later this week, featuring a photographer who produces images far superior to mine. But in the meantime, I’m sharing this Belted Kingfisher I saw a while ago:
I love these bad-ass little birds for their punk ‘dos, pugnacious attitudes and ratcheting calls. If they think you’re getting too near their young, they’ll swoop on your ass with the fury of 10,000 valkyries.
Let this photo also dispel the notion that Florida doesn’t experience seasonal foliage changes. It’s not as dramatic as it is up north, but there are subtle changes everywhere, and trees in the central to northern part of the state display beautiful fall colors.
Anyhoo, open thread — impeachment hearing thread is downstairs, though that’s up for discussion here too if you like.
Elizabelle
Lovely photo. I like your little kingfisher punk rocker.
Anya
Lovely. You take great photos.
mrmoshpotato
Foilage.
Anya
Has the orange menace embarrassed us today? I haven’t checked the news since this morning.
Yarrow
Lots of hawks in my area now. They circle high up in the sky and then swoop low trying to get something. Fun to watch but keep an eye on your little dogs.
Major Major Major Major
Cute birb!
I’ve just been having a hellish last 24 hours, but I resolved the stressors at least. Hopefully my endocrine system will take note soon.
J R in WV
I didn’t send in any birb pictures! Mine are all puppies and kitties, isn’t that what this blIb is all adout.?!?
Betty Cracker
@J R in WV: Pretty sure your pics are in the hopper ahead of the bird photos referenced above. One cool thing about being a “power user” of this site is that I get a preview of scheduled posts.
cope
Sweet kingfisher picture. I rearely see them in my jaunts and until last month, had never successfully taken a picture of one. Fortunately, on a nature drive along northern Lake Apopka near my home, I finally managed to snap a not-horrible picture of one last month. One of my Colorado sisters and her husband were visiting and I took them out for a tour of the local flora and fauna.
Thank you for the respite post, I am in dire need of relief from the world that is too much with us.
trollhattan
Love kingfishers and have never had the good luck to catch one. Our Antipodean friends are treated to the azure kingfisher, which has to be one of the prettiest varieties and a few are hellbent on photographing them. A sample.
Yutsano
Kingfishers are fun to watch. The little dude will be sitting about ten feet up then WHOOSH SPLASH tasty fish!
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: Wow, what a gorgeous bird!
dnfree
Last summer I was walking in the wooded area near our garage and saw a baby bird on the ground. I had barely had time to wonder where the parents were when I was SWOOPED and SWOOPED back and forth right above my head by an irate bluebird. I have been swooped by bluejays before, but I didn’t realize bluebirds were so aggressive. It continued swooping until I backed way off past the garage.
Betty Cracker
@Yutsano: Got a photo of one last year on that same channel marker (visible from my porch) chowing down on a fish. It did exactly what you described: swooped down and nabbed poor Mr. Minnow in about a nanosecond…
Brachiator
Cool photo. That bird is definitely giving some attitude.
Betty Cracker
@cope: I bet you saw a million gators! Lake Apopka has a ton.
Yutsano
@Betty Cracker: I’m trying to imagine the azure kingfisher doing this. As far as I know they all fish in pretty much the same fashion. It’s such a cute wee bab that it must be a sight to see the little blue blur suddenly munching on a small fry.
J R in WV
I love kingfishers too. I grew up on a ridge top, high and dry oak woods with a really hard capstone about 12 inches down. But where we live now has tiny creeks with minnows, and so has the odd waterbird.
Great Blue Herons, Wood Ducks, and Kingfishers among them. No pictures, as all of them are elusive and prone to take off like a rocket the moment they suspect someone is looking at them…
Glad to hear my puppies are in the queue… They weren’t on the road, just lying about the place. Adorable! Love them all so much. Funny how quick that can happen!!
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Tiny flying jewels. Evidently quite shy so a lot of work to capture, and with that particular set the photographer was able to get unusually close.
The same camera forum has a Kiwi who shoots them at tide flats, where they fish for teeny tiny crabs.
Adam Lang
Reminds me a little of this black-crowned night heron that I got some pictures of about five years ago.
https://dogsofsf.com/archives/11504
cope
@Betty Cracker: Indeed we did. It’s my “go to” place to take out of town visitors for some gator action. Even though it was a relatively cool and completely overcast day, we saw several gators out and about. We also lucked out with manatees at Blue Spring even though it is a bit early in the season to see them up in the run. We came across a gamboling pair (mama and baby?) when we hiked down to the St. John’s.
Mr. Mack
I love barn swallows for much the same reasons…they attack me by swooping very close, but not ever hitting me. When I’m on a mower, they fly by at breakneck speeds, back and forth. By the way, have you ever heard of a Shrike? Apparently these guys impale their prey on barbed wire or other sharp objects, and we (Tennessee) are covered up with them. So, I see your badass bird, and raise.
karensky
Kingfishers are most handsome birds. The first time I saw one was when I was about 8 and visiting my French Canadian aunts and uncles and cousins in Maine. A bunch of us were picknicking near a big stream east of Bangor. All of the kids were poking around in the water looking for animal life when a gorgeous blue bird with a hairdo flew down into the stream and nailed a small fish. It was love at first sight. Ah, kingfishers!
seefleur
At one point in time I was all set to have a kingfisher as a tattoo – I had never seen one until we moved to Maine and I started to spend time in a canoe. Your photo really shows their style and attitude. And thanks for the respite.
motopilot
Cool kingfisher photo. I’ve been trying to get one on Whidbey Island for years, but they don’t let me close enough.
As for swooping on your ass with fury for being too near their young, I was swooped on by a golden eagle while taking photos out in an open area in eastern Oregon. Hearing the air rushing through its wings as it dove at me I turned to look up at it. Its legs and talons were extended and it was coming at my head. I hit the dirt. Very freaky!
opiejeanne
I love your bird photos, Betty. I am pretty sure I’ve never seen a kingfisher in the wild and this shot of one is great. He really does look like a little punk.