I was just arriving at work one morning last week when I spotted this guy up on a powerline, looking down along the canal that runs next to my office. I've seen him around quite a bit in recent weeks and I've spotted his brother over on Viele Road, fishing the canal along there.
The light was good, so I scrambled to get my camera out of the back seat of my car. Just as I raised the lens to shoot, he took a dive off the powerline right into the canal and, about three seconds later, I saw him come up with something in his beak. He landed on the fence, providing me with a grand view, so I started shooting. Turns out he had a fine looking fish! I love it when Nature gives me a closeup of how things work!
In the science world, this bird is known this way ...
Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. There are 94 species worldwide, six in North America and one in Florida. The "one in Florida" is the Belted Kingfisher, or "Megaceryle alcyon." (Can you even pronounce the words?)
More stuff here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belted_Kingfisher
Watch the birds. You never know what you might see!
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