Not one of my overall success rates with visits to North America Belted Kingfisher have only ever been seen distantly, flying away from me or on occasionally so I was determined to get a picture this time round. I only had a few of these birds, all matching the above scenarios, however this bird allowed be to 'stalk it' at Morro Bay near the marina. I used a number of fallen trees to get pretty close to this male and I managed to get just 3 or 4 usable images before he shot off around the headland. Can't complain as he is a smasher and pictures are not bad.
California - November 2009
Kingfishers & Woodpeckers
Northern Flicker
Belted Kingfisher
At the Big Morongo Canyon Reserve near Joshua a family party of Northern Flickers presented themselves on exposed snags in the early morning.
Below at Mt. Pinos the Northern Flickers were a little more difficult to photograph however this image I particularly liked as the tree and surroundings set the bird off perfectly.