Petsmart in Okemos has a good-sized pond in front of it. This morning, it was occupied by a few dozen Mallards, and Nicole saw a Great Blue Heron. I couldn't see the heron, so I walked over to the edge of the pond. Shortly after I saw the heron, a bird flew over the pond . . . and hovered.
It was a lot bigger than a hummingbird. As it hung there, I recognized the characteristic long, thick, wedge-shaped beak and crest of a kingfisher. In retrospect, I suspect it was a Belted Kingfisher, but I'm not certain. This was only the 2nd kingfisher I've seen. Anyway, this is good-sized bird -- like a foot long, or so. Hovering. After 10-15 seconds, it dropped straight down into the pond, beak first. It came out almost immediately with a fish (something light-colored, anyway) in it's beak. I lost it as it flew away. Still, amazing to watch.
If you follow the link, there's a brief description of the Belted Kingfisher's hunting (fishing?) technique. It's exactly what I saw. There's also a recording of Belted Kingfisher sounds, which match what I heard. For those reasons, not to mention that the size & general coloration match what I remember, I'm pretty sure we saw a Belted Kingfisher doing its thing. And Nicole, who is not a bird-person, got to see it too. It was cool.
It was a lot bigger than a hummingbird. As it hung there, I recognized the characteristic long, thick, wedge-shaped beak and crest of a kingfisher. In retrospect, I suspect it was a Belted Kingfisher, but I'm not certain. This was only the 2nd kingfisher I've seen. Anyway, this is good-sized bird -- like a foot long, or so. Hovering. After 10-15 seconds, it dropped straight down into the pond, beak first. It came out almost immediately with a fish (something light-colored, anyway) in it's beak. I lost it as it flew away. Still, amazing to watch.
If you follow the link, there's a brief description of the Belted Kingfisher's hunting (fishing?) technique. It's exactly what I saw. There's also a recording of Belted Kingfisher sounds, which match what I heard. For those reasons, not to mention that the size & general coloration match what I remember, I'm pretty sure we saw a Belted Kingfisher doing its thing. And Nicole, who is not a bird-person, got to see it too. It was cool.
