Birds and Nature

 This small member of the kingfisher family is found in the U.S. only in southwest and very Texas and a small piece of southeast Arizona.  However it's range extends through Mexico and Central America to South America.  The two pics at the top are of the male Green Kingfisher with bright rufous breast while the bottom two pics are of the female that has green chest bands instead.  Both have very lare bills relative to their small bodies (length is just under 9 inches0. I have usually found Green Kingfishers flush easily making it difficult to get good pics so I used my most sneaky skills to get these pics.  It helped that there was a lot of vegetation in the way which added a little more challenge to get sharp shots.  SeEtta

I birded Frontera Audubon in Weslaco, TX today and got these photos of a Green Kingfisher. Though this species is found in parts of the Hill Country it is most often seen here in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

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...