Green Kingfisher: close views at Edinburg Wetlands

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I really enjoy the Edinburg Wetlands and World Birding Center--it has fantastic native habitat and enjoyable birding. Sadly many birders miss out because they follow reports of rare birds and this lovely area doesn't get as many rarities as some other areas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. So they miss out on the intimate opportunities I had yesterday to view and photograph this Green Kingfisher up close.

Green (and other) Kingfishers usually avoid perching close to people and flush when people try to get close. This bird came in to the small 'Dragonfly Pond' at Edinburg Wetlands to fish. It perched as close as about 25 feet from me and stayed at various perches around me for more than 15 minutes providing wonderful views. Naturally it was overcast with drizzly clouds during that time so with my very long telephoto lens outfit (that needs a lot of light) I wasn't able to get the great photos this closeness could have provided to show off the wonderful colors of this male bird. I did try using flash on the bottom pic. As can be seen in changed the coloration (it's color appeared blue-green as in the top pic due to lighting conditions) and shows the flash reflection in it's eye--I am a fan of natural light and don't like flash photos for just these reasons (as well as it can disturb birds, though this one didn't seem to be effected). SeEtta

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