The constant challenge of being a birder is the difficulty of getting a close, clear look at your quarry. Since wild birds are not known to come near humans to pose on request, you have to be prepared with patience and a long lens. Certain birds will push you to the limits of both.
Today's object lesson: the belted kingfisher. They're a common bird across North America and they live in our neighborhood, but they rarely stay still for long for me to snap a photo. On a visit to the Ballard Locks I was finally able to spy one taking a break on the opposite side of the water. The first image below was taken from probably 100 yards away and required extreme cropping. When I moved closer it took flight the moment it detected my presence. Sigh.
I've got a plan to try to find kingfishers where they hang out more regularly, but it will have to wait until a very low tide.
Similarly, getting an osprey on camera is a rarity for me. While we see them in the air frequently, I'm not yet great at tracking birds in flight. Fortunately I know where there's a osprey nest in the neighborhood. Unfortunately you can't get very close, and my long lens can only reach so far. Thus, again, the best I can do is a tightly cropped photo.
I'm not unhappy with these photos, but at this level of magnification there's a loss of fine detail and it took a fair amount of post work in Lightroom to defeat the haze and contrast problems. It's good practice though, and someday, just maybe, I'll be able to sneak up close to a kingfisher.
September 11 | Fujifilm X-E4 + Fujinon 55-200 f3.5-4.8
September 26 + October 1, 2025 | Fujifilm X-T5 + Fujinon 150-600 f5.6-8
September 26 + October 1, 2025 | Fujifilm X-T5 + Fujinon 150-600 f5.6-8
