Belted Kingfisher

Gallery: AvianPosted October 31, 20132,053 views20 comments

Shasta County, Ca
I placed a number of perches in an area of a local pond frequented by a family of kingfishers. It took about a week for them to begin regular use. 7D, 700mm, F8, 1/2500, ISO 400, tripod, doghouse blind. Thanks for any suggestions, Dave

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on October 31, 2013 at 6:02 PM

Gorgeous capture of this Kingfisher, David. Excellent detail and colors too.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on October 31, 2013 at 7:34 PM

This is great David. Kingfishers seem to be notoriously difficult to capture. You got a nice pose, excellent detail, a wonderful BG, and a perch with lichen that matches the orange belt of this female. Good job. The outer feathers showing on the bird's left wing look odd. Not sure what that is.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on October 31, 2013 at 7:38 PM

Well done!

This kingfisher stands out very well from the BG. The perch works well also. Good colors and details of the bird. From my limited experience trying to photograph these guys they are difficult, you have done a fine job. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on October 31, 2013 at 8:40 PM

My nemesis!!!
Excellent detail, head turn, colours, and great perch.
Very well done!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on October 31, 2013 at 8:41 PM

Looks fine to me. Good stuff !
JR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Marsh on October 31, 2013 at 9:00 PM

These Kingfishers are tough to get. The perch, bg, detail, lighting, and position are excellent. It does not get any better than this. Excellent job David.

Registered on December 29, 2012, 21 Posts, 225 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on October 31, 2013 at 9:25 PM

David, this is a beautiful shot. It makes me want to move to northern California.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on November 1, 2013 at 10:49 AM

Magnificent shot, great species and technical great in all respects! Love it !

, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Martin Dunn on November 1, 2013 at 11:14 AM

Absolutely stunning Dave.
no niggles at all. Actually yes, one, why don't they pose like that for me?

Registered on February 20, 2013, 198 Posts, 1011 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on November 1, 2013 at 6:20 PM

Very nice to get such a close framing of this Kingfisher, David. Only suggestion, as an option, a bit more "looking space" at the right, which could be easily accomplished in software. Nice work.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on November 2, 2013 at 7:03 AM

Spectacular David - I'd be tempted to give it a tiny bit more room

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on November 2, 2013 at 8:17 PM

A difficult subject for most of us. Very nice as presented.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by David E Lester on November 2, 2013 at 11:38 PM

Stunning!!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on November 3, 2013 at 1:57 AM

David,

You could not ask for a better pose than this

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on November 3, 2013 at 10:13 PM

Hi David

A perfect pose on a excellent perch

Superb detail and color make this a homerun

Albert Darmo
Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on November 7, 2013 at 1:17 PM

Superb, David. Detail, background, perch and pose make this among the best Belted Kingfisher shots I've seen posted on NPN. Excellent work, and well-deserving of a WP.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on November 7, 2013 at 7:35 PM

Congrats on the pick and a belated welcome to NPN David, this is a stunning shot in terms of lighting, bg, pose and perch, well done and looking forward to more of your shots and comments on others work.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Kellermeyer on November 8, 2013 at 10:19 AM

Awesome picture. I have been trying to catch this very evasive creature myself. I love the pose,sharpness and true color.The tree colors are also great.

Registered on March 19, 2013, 52 Posts, 161 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on November 16, 2013 at 10:26 AM

David,
Stunning image of a very illusive bird. For me the Kingfisher has been a very difficult capture due to their size and that it is hard to get close to them. I am glad to see you have mastered the know how and the patience to get this quality image.
Congratulations on the well deserved WP . . .

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on November 17, 2013 at 1:44 PM

Glad this won the WP - stunning image -
Congrats !
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments