Mrs. Kingfisher

She watched us closely before flying off to hunt for fish.

Kingfisher

 

Kingfisher

He was making a lot of noise, chattering in the trees.

 

Out of luck

This little kingfisher was getting pretty frazzled.  He kept diving down, flying around and diving again and again, coming back with nothing.  After a while he chattered as he flew off to a better fishing spot.

 

Kingfisher

The kingfisher sits and watches from the water level post.

 

Kingfisher

A favorite perch for Mr. Kingfisher.

 

Kingfisher

The kingfisher posed on a branch.

 

Kingfisher

A kingfisher flies low across the lake.

 

kingfisher

The kingfisher posed for me.

 

King of the tree

Do you see the kingfisher sitting on his favorite tree?  

He looks like another branch until he dives into the water and comes back with a fish.

 

Belted Kingfisher

One way to get rid of graffiti is to encourage art.

This picture has the hashtag RaleighArts  and #callbeforeyoudraw.

Unfortunately it's painted on the side of a sewer vault and is a bit stinky.

Here's the real deal.  

 

Kingfisher

We could hear his laughing call for a long time before we saw him. This male kingfisher just wanted everyone to know he was there.

 

Mrs. Kingfisher

She was perched over the lake watching for fish and making her laughing call.  She swooped down, grabbed a fish and went back to laughing and hanging out in the tree.

How did I know she was a she?  The brown on her chest makes her a female. (see here)

 

Kingfisher

We could hear his laughing call as he flew across the lake.  He went back and forth and finally landed on a post.  

A Belted Kingfisher.

 

Kingfisher

We heard him laugh before we saw him.  The kingfisher swooped down, caught a fish and then perched proudly after his meal.

 

Kingfisher

I heard him laughing before I could see him.  A belted kingfisher looking over his domain.

 

Kingfisher

Way across the lake, we spotted a belted Kingfisher.

Kingfisher again

Now that I've found him, the kingfisher seems to be easier to spot.  He was fishing in the lake, and stopped to eat his catch on a turtle log.

Belted Kingfisher

We've been chasing this bird for a long time.  Everytime we go to the little lake at Durant Nature Park we hear the call and then see the bird whizzing out of sight.

This time I caught them from across the lake, male and female.

Male

And Female