Glad you got one finally! Didn't realize it was a nemesis of yours. We have a lot of them down here this time of year - they come down for winter and hunt like crazy. I got a few of them last month before my vacation, playing with the new Tamron 150-600mm lens...in flight:
I did got this one a few years ago at Bombay Hook NWR in De. they even nic named her Carole King Fisher as she would pose all the time. I like the shot I got today better as it is sharper and no tree limbs in the way. very hard to get as they are so skittish
It actually took me about 5 years of birding before I got my first one - then about 3 more years before I got my second one. But over the past 3 years or so, they've been much more common around here every winter, especially at my two closest and most common birding refuges. One thing I love about kingfishers - you know they're present long before you see them. I can be walking into the wetlands refuge, and from the parking lot can already hear their telltale chatter calls as they go hunting and chasing eachother...so I know to start looking for them. They're quite noisy!
