As many know, the belted kingfisher is one of the most difficult birds to photograph because they are extremely wary of humans carrying cameras. I have recently been lucky to be able to find a number of males, likely young and not yet as skittish as the adults, that come fairly close for flight photographs. Lucky me!

Photographed at a park in Holiday, Florida.

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Tags:   Megaceryle alcyon Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Schocken Photography Mark Schocken Canon 90D

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I photographed a male belted kingfisher in flight on 11/3/2019 and again was able to photograph one on 11/6/2019 at the same place, maybe the same bird. Usually they don't get this close to humans but this one or these kingfishers seem not to be as wary of humans. I think they're young. They'll learn, I'm sure.

Photographed on an overcast day in Holiday, Florida at a local park.

Tags:   Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon Schocken Photography Mark Schocken

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A male belted kingfisher crosses my path unexpectedly and amazingly gets close enough to photograph. This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult birds to photograph in the US. Skittish would be an understatement.

Photographed at Anclote Gulf Park in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Tags:   Megaceryle alcyon Belted Kingfisher Kingfisher Schocken Photography Mark Schocken

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Male belted kingfisher at Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland, FL.

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Tags:   Mark Schocken Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon

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Earlier I posted one of my best belted kingfisher images, taken yesterday. I'm also posting this one. Same bird, just different pose. Photographing this bird at such a close distance was quite a thrill since I've been expressly trying to get an image like this one. It's a very cool bird but very skittish to humans, particularly those with a camera in their hands. I can say that after 24 hours of thinking about it, I am still not so obsessed with this species anymore but it remains one of my favorite birds. Of course, I still want a shot of the belted kingfisher with a fish in its mouth on a nice snag or post. I also want a shot of the bird hitting the water on a dive or coming up with a fish after diving. Still, I feel more relaxed now which is good.

Lakeland Highlands Scrub, Lakeland, FL

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Thanks for visiting and for your faves and comments.

Tags:   Megaceryle alcyon Belted Kingfisher Female Kingfisher Mark Schocken Bird Nature

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