One snowy day back in February – the 17th, to be exact – I wound up spending a lot of time with a male Belted Kingfisher that I have seen periodically all winter long. As reluctant as I might be to show photos with snowy backgrounds these days, we have snow now in our immediate forecast, and sunshine beats all the odds as far as I’m concerned.
The snow made a great contrasting background for the Belted Kingfisher and it was a delight to have time to focus on his comings and goings along the river that morning.
The Red-tailed Hawk was calmly surveying the scene.
Below, what the river looked like from the Joliet Avenue bridge, and the snowy footsteps preserved in ice on the paved path.
Four days earlier, on February 13, it was a sunny day but without snow cover yet. Sunshine was nice on this Red-bellied Woodpecker.
A Red-winged Blackbird was chasing the Red-tailed Hawk.
Ring-billed Gulls are returning to the area.
That was the last time I saw the Common Merganser couple that was lounging around the river just beyond the Hoffman Tower.
Two last photos of the Belted Kingfisher – your choice – tail up or down?
The weather has been off-and-on crappy and I have not gone out every morning for a walk, but the birds are still on schedule. I hope to be back a little sooner with a few more.
Apologies for the boredom of this post . I kept falling asleep while writing it.
Wonderful pictures of the kingfisher. Our local ones flies by so fast that if you are lucky enough to see one, they are gone before you can get a camera out.
I usually miss him, hearing his rattling call but barely seeing him. I just got lucky that day. Not much else distracted me and he almost seemed to welcome the attention.
I found it to be a great series of photos of the kingfisher, showing different activities, mainly. I’m happy. Take care, Lisa… 🙂
Aw thanks so much H.J.! The kingfisher was happy that day, he really didn’t seem to mind me being paparazzi. Take care too. 😊
GREAT shots of the birds in flight, particularly the belted kingfisher. Well done. You have made positive productive use of a lot of blah, overcast wintery days. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Bob! I have to wonder if this kingfisher is the same bird we have seen occasionally at the Portage. It was actually a joy to follow him without a lot of foliage in the way.