The rattling sound was distinctive as I rounded the curve of the road heading to the marsh.
I paused to listen more carefully.
Checked the regular haunts where I’ve seen the Belted Kingfisher in the past.
Not on the scraggly stump on the south side of the marsh.
Not in the overhanging limb of the tree on the far side of the marsh.
The subdued rattling sound was closer.
And then I looked up, less than 15 feet away from me. Peering through the shadows, I could see the outline of a bird with a bad hair day.
The Belted Kingfisher, perched on the tree limb behind a mass of understory shrubs was calling.
I’ve never seen a Kingfisher so close before!
I quickly took photos through the shadows before he flew off to the other side of the marsh.
And patted myself virtually on the back as he was the first Kingfisher I have seen at the marsh this year.
