Blowin' in the Wind

Male Belted Kingfisher - Peacock's Pocket Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Wilson, Florida

The King and I had a good day, and we learned to get along just fine, as he fished and I took pics and videos. He was spooked several times by other vehicles, but seemed not to mind me at all, and perhaps took advantage of me as a shield from the rocket launch traffic drivin' up and down the road.

In this video you can see him frequently keepin' a lookout for the local Marsh Hawk (a.k.a. Northern Harrier), and on occasion lookin for fish, but for the most part keepin' an eye on me to be sure I meant no harm (i.e. the profile poses, where he was got the best look at me by pointing one eye in my direction). His watchfulness worked out well for the video, since that pose allowed the wind to interact nicely with his crest feathers!

Note: This video was processed using YouTube's image stabilization algorithm, along with 2X slow-mo to get the best look at his feathers blowin' in the wind.