Parking lot Kingfisher

[Steve Large]

Hi Everyone,
I managed to snag this shot at the Neck Point parking lot here in Nanaimo. There must have been close to fifty people milling around as the parking lot was full what with the nice weather and all. Lots of noise and dogs barking too :eek:. That didn't seem to phase our friend here as he swooped in to a handy snag and began diving for fish in the small pond right in front of me. He stayed for quite a while unscathed by all the excitment. Got quite a few nice shots from different angles. The light was a bit challenging though as it was mid afternoon and the sun was harsh. Did what I could to save the whites:D. Hope you like it.

Stats: Canon 50D, 500mm F/4 with 1.4X, ISO 400, 1/640 sec at F/8, spot metering, no comp.

Thanks for looking!

Take care,

Steve

[Scott Frye]

Good job on getting eye level with this kingfisher -- most of the ones I have seen are very shy. Good colors on the bird and I like that natural background

[Myer Bornstein]

like the color and the background

[Stu Bowie]

You lucky to have kingfishers in a parking lot - I have to drive 200kms to get mine. Great hunting posture, sharp, and well exposed. I would have preferred a better BG for him to have perched in front of.

[Steve Large]

You lucky to have kingfishers in a parking lot - I have to drive 200kms to get mine. Great hunting posture, sharp, and well exposed. I would have preferred a better BG for him to have perched in front of.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so far for all of your comments. Hi Stuart, here is another shot of him/her at the top of the snag. I didn't post this because the whites in the neck looked a bit cooked and I could not recover them any further but at least there is a better background.

Cheers,

Steve

[Julie Brown]

Steve, I like both of these images. I don't mind the BG on the first one. The second one is more distracting.
I think this is a male because of the rust coloring. These are such cool birds!:cool:

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Steve, I realise we cant choose their BG's.;) I dont see anything wrong with your repost, and the whites on the neck look fine. A bit of linear burning will sort it out. Your belted KF's are a little like our Giant KF's. Cheers.

[Ted Willcox]

Hi Steve
Nice image. A little to much gray in the white on the back of her collar. It is a female. In this species the female has more colour then the male. The male lacks the rusty colour.
Ted

[Steve Large]

Hi Steve
Nice image. A little to much gray in the white on the back of her collar. It is a female. In this species the female has more colour then the male. The male lacks the rusty colour.
Ted

Hi Ted,
Thanks for the comment. I managed to read up on the Kingfisher on the ferry this evening. Kind of the opposite to most of the bird world in that the male is usually the most colorful.

Take care,

Steve