Elusive

  

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) perched on a post near Spud Point Marina on 20 November 2025.  

I've probably mentioned this before, but good kingfisher photos have been elusive for me (over many years of trying!).  Kingfishers seem hyper-aware, and even when I think I'm hidden behind a tree or next to another object, they take off before I can get close enough for a decent shot.

This photo finally feels a bit more satisfying.  I hope to do better some day, but I like how you can see some of the feather details, including white spots and highlights on various types of feathers.  [Click on the image for a larger version and scan around to see what you can see!]

Watch your speed

  

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) perched along Westshore Road in Bodega Bay on 11 November 2025.

P.S.  Did you know that Belted Kingfishers can fly up to speeds of 25 mph (40 kmh)?  (Some sources say they might be able to reach speeds of up to 36 mph (58 kmh)...1 mph faster than this local speed limit!) 

One more fish?

  

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) in Bodega Harbor at sunset, 19 January 2023

Fishing from shore

  

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Bodega Harbor, 10 February 2022

I think I've mentioned this before, but I have the hardest time trying to photograph kingfishers.  They seem quite shy in this area.  Perhaps you can tell these photos were taken through small openings in the branches of cypress trees.   

 

 

Lookout

 

Female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) perched across the street from the Bodega Bay Post Office on 15 December 2018.

You know the Pacific Ocean is calm when...

 

...you see a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) fishing in the surf zone! 

Here's a slightly closer view of the hovering kingfisher (below).  Can you tell if this is a male or female?  (Click on the photo for a larger version.)

 

Females and males can be told apart by their pectoral bands.  Males have one slate blue band across their chest, while females have two: one slate blue band and one rufous band (as well as rufous sides).  

She picked a nice day to explore the outer coast! 

 

Two different views of the unusually calm ocean on 12 August 2015:

 

 

Success!

 

Not the best picture of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), but I was just talking about this species with Peter and Jim, so I thought it'd be fun to post a photo.

I've actually been casually trying to get a picture of a kingfisher for a while now.  They're tough!  As soon as I start approaching with a camera, they start calling and then fly off into the distance.

This is a female — note the rufous sides and lower breast band.  Males would lack the rufous coloration.  She was perched on a sign at Gaffney Point near the south end of Bodega Harbor.  (I often see kingfishers at the north end of the harbor.  And Peter recently noticed one near the Highway 1 bridge over Salmon Creek.)

While I was taking this picture — from a distance, hidden behind a cypress tree — the kingfisher changed position and became very sleek.

 

You can guess what happened next.  She disappeared from view, I heard a splash in the water, and then she reappeared...

 

 ..with a fish!

In these photos, can you see the small white spot between the eye and the bill?  Lawrence Kilham hypothesized that those spots could gather light and serve as guides when sighting fish.  His second idea was that the spots helped the adults transfer food to the young in the dark burrows where kingfishers nest.  I've also read that kingfishers might raise the white eyespot if threatened, so perhaps it has some role in communication displays.  Maybe you'll be able to think about other ways white eyespots of kingfishers could be useful.

The two references for the above are: 

• Kilham, L. 1974. Biology of young Belted Kingfishers. Am. Midl. Nat. 92: 245-247.
• Davis, W. J. 1988. King of the stream. Nat. Hist. 97: 38-45.