Tag Archives: belted kingfisher

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

Belted Kingfishers at Shiners Park in Lillington NC

By Sally Siko

Made a quick trip to Cape Fear Shiners Park in Lillington NC last week to see what was flying around the area.
Happily I managed to spot this male Belted Kingfisher perched on a snag in the middle of the pond.
Although the bird was pretty far away from my vantage point along the trail, I still had to sneak up to try and get a photo.
(The first image is cropped about 70% of the original pic. The second photo shows about how close I got)
These birds have an uncanny ability to sense when I’m taking their photo and usually fly off with a rattling call of amusement only to land again just outside the limits of my focal range lol!
With these photos, I got lucky.
Well kinda.
At least I came away with something haha!



A year round resident of North Carolina, Belted Kingfishers are also a familiar sight to many in the Western Hemisphere. Their breeding range stretches from Alaska, Canada and all the way down to into Florida. When winter arrives, Kingfishers in the far northern areas will migrate to the southern United States and northern South America.

They are super entertaining to watch hunt for fish.
Hovering above the water, their dark brown eyes are able to see colors and shapes distinctly through the glare of sunlight sparkling on the waves and are even capable of seeing in binocular vision.
Once they zero in on a fish, they tuck their wings tightly to their sides and dive straight down into the water like a feathered missile to stab their prey.
Once the fish is secured in their bill, they’ll fly off to finish the job. Because their fish are often large and wriggling (and thus difficult to eat), Kingfishers kill their prey by beating them on the ground (or their perch) to shatter the bones.
Then, they work the fish into their mouths, head first, so that they won’t get cut up by the bones or scales as they swallow it whole.
Crazy!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes

The Belted Kingfisher- bird photography nemesis

Have you ever heard the term “nemesis bird”?
Usually this moniker is applied to a specific species of which a birder has been searching for but is unable to find.
While I certainly have species that I’ve been seeking with no luck, (hello Short eared Owl grrrr!) I also have used the term nemesis to describe the lovely bird featured here, the Belted Kingfisher.

Now, technically I’m using the term incorrectly as I’ve seen hundreds of Kingfishers over the years. Rather, I think of these sneaky creatures as my photo nemesis because every time I spot one they take off flying in a hurry in the opposite direction leaving me with zero opportunities to get a clean photograph.
It’s super frustrating and I swear they laugh at me with that familiar rattling call as they zip away lol!

Luckily I caught a break and finally captured a few portraits of this handsome male last month while birding at the Alligator River NWR in eastern NC. I just happened to be driving slowly on Sawyer Lake Rd watching for ducks on the impoundment fields when we spotted this Kingfisher perched on a sapling right next to the gravel road.
Apparently the Kingfishers at ARNWR are used to cars driving by at close range so this guy stayed put on his branch allowing us to pull up right across from him.
No, it’s not the most interesting bird encounter I’ve ever had but gosh I was pleased to finally get a frame filling shot or two of this species.

From the lower elevations of mountains in the west to our far eastern counties, Belted Kingfishers are a familiar sight across the entire state of NC.
They are easily found in areas where fresh or brackish water are present such as along streams, ponds, lakes, swamps, rivers and marshes.
If you’re lucky you may be able to see one at a close range while they’re hunting for fish. Don’t count on it though lol 😉

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my beloved 50MP beast, the @canonusa#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A belted Kingfisher at Bass lake Park

Got up early this morning and took a quick birding trip to Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs N.C. to see what I could and was rewarded with a nice view of this female Belted Kingfisher.
These birds have an uncanny ability to sense when I’m taking their photo and usually fly off with a rattling call of amusement only to land again just outside the limits of my focal range lol! Today, I got lucky 😉



A year round resident of North Carolina, Belted Kingfishers are also a familiar sight to many in the Western Hemisphere. Their breeding range stretches from Alaska, Canada and all the way down to into Florida. When winter arrives, Kingfishers in the far northern areas will migrate to the southern United States and northern South America.


They are super entertaining to watch hunt for fish. Hovering above the water, their dark brown eyes are able to see colors and shapes distinctly through the glare of sunlight sparkling on the waves and are even capable of seeing in binocular vision.
Once they zero in on a fish, they tuck their wings tightly to their sides and dive straight down into the water like a feathered missile to stab their prey.
Once the fish is secured in their bill, they’ll fly off to finish the job. Because fish are often large and wriggling (and thus difficult to eat), Kingfishers kill their prey by beating them on the ground (or their perch) to shatter the bones.
Then, they work the fish into their mouths, head first, so that they won’t get cut up by the bones or scales as they swallow it whole.
Crazy!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty full frame 50 megapixel beast of an SLR, the @canonusa
#5ds