Here is a belted kingfisher for this #featheredfriday
I hear these guys near lake around where I live but in all my years of birding I have never been able to pin one down for a shot until now.
I heard its machine gun call and looked across a semi-frozen lake and saw its belt.
Sadly I wasn't close enough to get a good shot of it gulping down this fish. I think the key to getting these guys on film is to catch them while they are eating.
Thankfully as it was feeling the fish wiggle around in its belly I was able to sneak around the lake and get some closer shots.
The darn branches were in the way though and I missed a few good compositions because of these branches.
Finally it got suspicious of me and flew across to the other side of the lake.
It was a bit cold and wanted to warm up in the sun so I was able to sneak back around again. Again too much tangled branches for a nice composition.
I almost lined up the perfect shot before some hikers walked behind me and scared it away again. Might need a ghillie suit for Christmas.
Thankfully the hikers didn't scare away the coyote I saw just a few minutes later. I'm sure its off to find whatever it can scavenge.
Lately they've been eating mostly rotted wild plums pit and all. Soon when it gets really cold they will be raiding people's garbage cans if they aren't tied down, perhaps a few cats if they aren't kept inside.
That's all for now, thanks for looking :-)
This post has been shared on Reddit by @davideownzall through the HivePosh initiative.
Thanks @davideownzall :-)
You welcome! Thanks for the nice pictures!
What a wonderful kingfisher. I saw one in India, but I think it was a different species.
There are quite a few different species in India, did you see the black and white one?
I think it's called the common kingfisher. It looked like the one shown in Kingfisher beer from India. It was on a branch then it dove into the water and grabbed a fish.
With a name like common kingfisher you would think it was boring looking but it is super vibrant and colorful.
Yes, that's what I thought 🤣
Hello!
It can get tricky when the branches get in the way… but you managed it. I bet it was a great moment, especially with the bonus of the coyote afterwards. By the way, it’s the first time I’ve seen one here on Hive. 👏
Yeah the branches are annoying, but if there were leaves I wouldn't have even been able to get a shot at all I guess. The coyote looked well fed and not mangey like many other ones I see. It must be digging out some gourmet trash cans from somewhere.
😅 Oh yes, there are always some who are luckier… or craftier than others.
What a funny bird!
Big head tiny body like a cartoon character. Somehow it manages to gulp down whole fishes with just a small body lol.
Thanks :-)
Kingfisher has a definite look, this a first to see from your region, capturing them catching fish always entertaining to watch diving the waterways.
Having coyote around should keep the rodent population down hopefully not too many peoples pet cats.
If its shaped like a kookabura its a type of kingfisher, big head little body and a spike hairdoo lol. Hopfully it will stick around and let me discover where its burrow is for some better shots.
That coyote was almost as big as a German shepherd.
Our garden kingfisher the only one that does not fish, pretty little bugger who is keenly aware of being photographed too. Would imagine your coyote is similar size to our black backed jackal, not match against big cats.
Is the garden kingfisher the one that is blue with the black wing? The coyotes is roughly the size of a German shepherd smaller than a wolf but bigger than a red fox quite the omnivore compared to wolves.
We don't have wolves or coyotes, Cape Fox & Bat-eared Fox, the jackal is bigger, only ever seen one jackal on the move and one bat-eared fox in my life, so you are fortunate with wildlife close to you.
Wow that's quite a fancy looking kingfisher. All of them are quite uniquely colored and have some kind of blue hue to them.
This is one around the garden, we have ten species in South Africa.
I think you got some fine shots of the bird through the branches. That is one big coyote!
I'm thinking it was still trying to deal with a fish wriggling around in its belly before flying away so I was able to sneak a bit closer to it for better photos. At night I hear quite a few coyotes around here, I just don't know where they are all hiding.
I hear that! We have one that leaves tracks in the snow at our home, but we never see it during the day. Coyotes were a real problem in our area a few years back killing off pets and all the small animals.
My wife used to train dogs and one of her students had a little chihuahua that was carried away by a coyote. They also have an interesting way of using a female coyote to lure out a domesticated dog then they attack.
Oh no! That is so sad to hear, she must have been devastated to see that happen. We don't let Mika out at night without being on a long leash, just in case one comes into the yard now that we know there is one out there in the woods behind our house.
👌
Thanks :-)