Kip’s Comments - June 23, 2025
A Challenge Species with an Unusual Characteristic
For about as long as I have been exploring wildlife with a camera, one bird species has consistently posed photographic challenges. Belted kingfishers are one of those birds that make their presence known by sound and their determined flight along and over water. I repeatedly see kingfishers, but I seldom come home with decent images. I have begun to accept that my kingfisher photos likely will remain a low number. They have just been that difficult for me (and a fellow photographer friend who is no longer with us).
This morning I wasn’t even looking specifically for birds as I was running gas through my smaller outboard motor. Much to my surprise I noticed nearly a half dozen belted kingfishers working up and down the Wapsipinicon River. Even with the noise of the outboard the kingfishers seemed less skittish than normal… enough that I decided to take a chance on maybe shooting some photos of them.
After a half-hour or so of slowly moving up and down the river I took the boat off the river. My outboard gas tank had a little less fuel in it and my camera’s memory card contained many kingfisher images to choose from.
One interesting detail about belted kingfishers is that the females have more color than the males. For most bird species, the females tend to be drab or at least with less color than their male counterparts (think ring-necked pheasants and northern cardinals). Not so with kingfishers… the females have more color. I cannot explain why belted kingfishers are a bird coloration anomaly, but they are.
During my interaction with the kingfishers I was able to approach close to a male only once or twice. Today was the first time I photographed two belted-king fishers together (both females).
Following is a sampling of images from today.
Female Belted Kingfisher - Image 988108
Female Belted Kingfisher - Image 988109
Female Belted Kingfisher - Image 988285
Female Belted Kingfisher - Image 988531
Female Belted Kingfisher - Image 988632
Female Belted Kingfisher - Image 988692
