Belted Kingfisher and Fish

Anne and I went bicycling in the park today. This is the second time that she has ridden and the first real ride that she has had since her accident last year. On the was back home, we swung by the owl’s nest, so that Anne could see them, they were nowhere to be seen. I suspect that with today’s wind-shift, Sarah was hunkering down in the nest.

While we were standing around, wondering where the owl was, this kingfisher showed up and hung around long enough to gobble up its freshly caught fish. We saw this bird manifest the same behavior that the woman yesterday described to me. The kingfisher would smack the fish against the tree branch, I guess to stun it. I’ve compiled some of the photos into an animated GIF, to better convey this bird’s dining process. The following sound clip was recorded earlier and is included to let you know what to listen for. Kingfishers have a very distinctive call and are easier to find and track audibly than they are visually.