Saturday's Critters # 623

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

These are my nature walks with hubby and Miney, these images are from various parks we visited. Hubby and I were able to visit some of our Maryland State Parks, Gunpowder State Park, North Point State Park in Baltimore County and the Susquehanna River State Park and Conowingo Dam. 

1. We walked the Black Marsh Trail at North Point State Park.  We saw a few Osprey, Eastern Phoebes and the Belted Kingfisher.  

2. At the end of the Black Marsh trail we had a good view of the Chesapeake Bay.  I had a good view of the Eastern Bluebird and an American Goldfinch. 

3. We walked on the NCR trail which is part of the Gunpowder State Park. 

4. Another day and another walk on the local NCR bike trail. 

On the NCR trail my Merlin app was picking up the sounds of some winter birds like the Golden-crowned Kinglet and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

5. It was too early to see the Eagles migrating, that usually happens later in November.  We did see a few Bald Eagles, Double-crested Cormorants and the Great Blue Herons. 

Near the fishing pier at Conowingo Dam they have a pretty garden with a Bald Eagle sculpture. 

6. The Black Vultures are still plentiful near the Conowingo Dam and the Susquehanna River.

I can usually always see the Great Blue Herons along the Susquehanna River.  

7. Flashback photos are of various Kingfishers, seen here in the USA, Belize and Costa Rica. 

First I am sharing the male and female Belted Kingfishers seen in the USA.

8. The Amazon Kingfisher was seen in Costa Rica. 

The Green Kingfisher was seen in both Costa Rica and Belize. 

The Ringed Kingfisher was seen in both Costa Rica and Belize. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday   I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

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Ringed Kingfisher

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am sharing the Ringed Kingfisher from Belize. It was not a lifer because my first sighting was posted here Ringed Kingfisher Costa Rica

These photos are from my birding tour along the Sittee River..near Hopkins Belize.  The bird was cooperative for a few photos.

This is a large Kingfisher 15.5 inches..a massive bill and you can clearly see the rufous underparts of the male.. It has blueish-gray plumage, shaggy crest and a white collar. It breeds near large bodies of water and near heavily wooded areas.

The kingfishers are another one of my favorite birds. LOL,  I seem to have so many favorites.. This Kingfisher is found in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, thru Central America to South America.. I hope you enjoyed seeing the Ringed Kingfisher.. 

Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.

Thanks to both of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and our host Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Costa Rica Kingfishers

My post on the kingfisher is my bird photogrpahy weekly entry.

Costa Rica is a wonderful place for birders. I was able to see many lifers(first time seeing a bird) during my vacation without even trying. Some of the cool birds we saw along the river to Tortuguero were the Kingfishers. We saw three different species of Kingfishers. They were the Amazon Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher and the smallest kingfisher the Green Kingfisher. The Green Kingfisher was quick to move and I was not able to snap a photo. We did get to see a few sightings of the Green Kingfisher perched low over the river.

The Ringed Kingfisher is the largest, I read that this is one bird where the female is more colorful than the male. It  most distinguishing characteristic is the rufous belly, it covers the entire breast of the male.

The Amazon Kingfisher below was pretty common along the river, this guy below had food and was beating his catch against the tree. We were able to watch the kingfisher from our boat. They nest in horizontal tunnels made in a river bank.

Amazon Kingfisher

This is my Friday Ark entry and to see more click on my link. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Also my post is for Camera Critter this week, thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting.