When I first started my Birds of New Hampshire challenge, kingfishers were one of the birds that stuck out in my mind. They were a bird that I had heard about often enough to know exactly what it was but had never actually seen. Because of that, I anticipated that I would not be including it to my list of birds any time soon.

I came across my first belted kingfisher quite by accident. I was making my way around the edge of a pond and I spotted a little bump on a branch sticking out of the water. I couldn’t believe it when I took the shot and saw that the little bump was, in fact, a kingfisher.

My poor attempt to go back and get closer for a shot resulted in the bird taking off and flying across the pond. It perched in the branches of a dead tree and I settled in to watch it from a safe distance. It wasn’t long before it hopped off the branch and dove into the water, coming up with an unfortunate fish. It flew to an old stump to enjoy its meal.

Since then, I have learned that kingfishers are very sensitive to movement and disturbances. Because of that, it is a much better option to stake out a location and wait in a spot where you can view one as opposed to stumbling around in the hopes of getting that perfect shot. Luckily, these birds like to announce their approach with a very unique rattling call.

I was able to get this shot of this belted kingfisher because of that. I was making my way towards the water’s edge to photograph some hooded mergansers when I heard the kingfisher’s call. I couldn’t see it but it was very close, somewhere off to my left. I stopped where I was and turned my camera in that direction.