The Kingfisher at the Ponds

The river is such a tranquil place, 

a place to sit and think of romance and the beauty of nature, 

to enjoy the elegance of swans 

and the chance of a glimpse of a kingfisher.
~Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters

The ponds have been full of birds for the past couple of days. I did not have my camera on Tuesday when I drove through...still too groggy from the trip and just trying accomplish some errands before my classes started. So I went back today with the camera hoping for a few decent shots to share.

Egrets and herons were everywhere. There were ducks, as well - Blue-winged Teal (I thought) and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (I knew). Cormorants were diving in one of the tanks. I ignored a mocking bird - I'll catch it another day. A number of wading birds - Black-necked stilts and American Avocets as well as some too far for identification. Some new (to me) varieties of dragonflies rested on the barbed wire.

Roseate Skimmer

Blue Dasher

As I tried for decent photos of one of the Great Egrets I noted a car driving towards me. I knew it had to be a birder. Indeed, it was my friend, GE. We talked about recent travel (him to South America) and he shared that someone had observed a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and a Ringed Kingfisher at the ponds. I confessed that I did not know the Buff-breasted Sandpiper at all, but that I had observed the kingfisher along the Frio River in May. It had been a stunning experience with multiple birds flying along as we tubed the river. I don't remember ever having seen them before and I will never forget the metallic/clanking call.
  
GE headed down the road and I finished my photos before turning around. As I got to the corner I heard it - that unmistakable metallic eh-eh-eh-eh-eh. I stopped and recorded it on the cell app I use for amphibian calls. [I also sent GE a message that I was hearing the kingfisher with its approximate location.]

Now I wait while the databases pass judgment on my observation. I'm sure, but one never knows if they will agree (or even look at the id). Whatever might happen, I am surprised and pleased to know that the efforts of the last few years are yielding some results. I'm bad enough at visual identification, but am worse at birding by ear. I recognized the Red-shouldered Hawk at the park this morning and then heard the Ringed Kingfisher.

Sometimes it isn't necessary to see the bird, it is enough to hear it and know that you are together in the wild.


Here are the better photos from the ponds today:

The Cattle Egrets were gobbling down some insects. It would have made good video. Here you can see the bug-bulge in the front bird's neck.

Great Egret

Great Egret in the "turtle pond" sharing the fallen tree.

A few years ago I watched a family of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - 12 chicks - in this pond. It was great to see even a few here.

Adult BBWD on the left and a juvenile on the far right. I haven't identified the other duck yet.

Killdeer - the eyes are so lovely.

It's not a great photo of the BBWD, but I wanted to point out the adult has a pink bill while the juvenile bill is blue-grey.

If they are at a distance, it helps for the cattle egrets to be hanging out with the cows for id.

Snowy Egret

Great Blue Heron (and a cormorant in the background)

NOTES:

First, I have no idea why part of the text is blue and part black. Editing has done nothing to repair. I will try one more time - perhaps changing all to blue. We will see.

Second, if you are curious about the Ringed Kingfisher, here are a couple of sites. It is large, impressive, and clanky.  

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ringed-kingfisher
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringed_kingfisher