Pair Of Kings

I sure do take a lot of bird pictures, don't I? Not sure why that is. (I blame Meredith, but you don't know who that is...) Anyhow, what you've got here are a couple of kingfishers. They're tiny and skittish, which makes them really hard to photograph, but I've gotten both these pictures in the past two weeks, so I figured they were worth sharing. The one above is from Robinson Preserve last weekend. There were several of them out there, but this is the one that let me get the closest. The one below I show today out at Myakka River State Park, and he was the second one I saw during the day. He seems to have a little more color to him. I need to do some research to see if maybe that's breeding plumage, or if the different coloration is a boy/girl thing. Or I could just not worry about it.

Live Wire

Those power lines at Robinson Preserve are just a magnet for wildlife. Not only did I spot woodpeckers and a kestrel up there on Saturday, I also saw this kingfisher. As usual, he was skittish to the point of not being there. Soon as I took two steps towards him to get a better picture, he was up and gone. So apologies for the graininess of this one, but it's all I got. Maybe next time...

The Fisher King

One of the birds I am always on the lookout for but never see is the kingfisher. Well, I shouldn't say never, but it's pretty rare. There was one flying around tonight as I was shooting, though. He kept flying back and forth, but never landing in view. Well, once. And that was all I needed.

The Missing Kingfisher

I was under the impression that I had only shot pictures of a kingfisher recently, once on my way home from work, and once when I was in Titusville to see a shuttle launch, both from earlier this year. I found this picture that seems to disprove that theory, though. It's from March of 2006, and clearly shows a kingfisher sitting in a tree. I shot this out on Anna Maria Island one evening, and appear to have promptly forgot about it. I probably did so because it's not a very good picture, and you're only looking at a tiny detail of the whole shot. But I must have known I was looking at something out of the ordinary, even then.

Kingfishing

While waiting for the shuttle launch, I wandered all over the place. You have to get there early to get a parking spot, then you're left with all kind of time to kill. So I wandered. One of the first things I found was a kingfisher. This is only the second one I've ever shot, so it's pretty special. I never did get very close to him, so I was lucky to get these halfway decent pictures.

At First Glance

Couple days ago, I'm driving home after work, and I see something sitting on a power line over a small pond. I did a double take since something seemed odd. This small bird had a crest on his head. You don't see that every day. So I pulled over, put the big lens on the camera and started walking back. Before I could get too close, the little guy took off and started flying towards me, but never getting very close. He landed on another power line for a second or two, then took off out of sight. I took a couple dozen pictures from too far away, and these three are the best. So what is he? I think it's a kingfisher. I've not seen one since I've been taking pictures, and I can't remember seeing one before that. So I guess that makes these pictures special, if a little blurry.