Belted kingfisher

The kingfisher is a year-round resident in this area, but often difficult to photograph. They are shyer than other birds and fly away with a loud voice to announce their dislike of being disturbed. You can see them on perches over saltwater shorelines and lakes where they detect small fish and dive down head first to catch them.

During nesting time, they create burrows in sand banks that are several feet deep. The kingfisher is one of the few species where females are more colorful than males, with a rufous band across the lower chest. We enjoy seeing and hearing them and sometimes have to hide behind a tree to take a picture, as I did with this one at the Hope Island Beach.

I hope you enjoyed my small educational articles and photos over the years. I started with "Bird Bytes" when Cindy and Sandy owned the paper. I then followed this tradition in Ken's paper and enjoyed working with him.

I wish him all the best for his retirement! I enjoyed working with him and will miss him!

Text and photo by Rosi Jansen