Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Saturday, September 14, 2013

Belted Kingfisher, Finally, at Last~



Oh Yes It Is!
My patience finally paid off.
Well possibly the Belted Kingfisher felt more at ease this past week, for it appeared that the Green Heron family had taken off, for other parts unknown.
On Monday morning, once again taking a break in between caring for shut-in family members, I went walking in 2 parks. 
Both are located in the heart of St. Matthews. 
The first is named Draut Park.
It was very quiet, only a few Red-Winged Blackbirds eating Cattails. 
Then I saw something fly up into a tree from the water's edge... it was quite a good distance away, but there it was a Belted Kingfisher ;)
Getting a single image of this beauty has been on my bird ...wish... bucket...list for a very long time.


Remember to double click on the image, to view a larger slide show of the images shared ~
I am linking up with Mary for:

"Mosaic Monday"


at:
 



and
I am linking up with Stewart at:

Wild Bird Wednesday

(http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)


Update:
There is a strong possibility, that I will not be having the
arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday after all. 
Many have contacted me about this procedure and I have looked much up on Bing. 
This is something that I feel was thrust upon me quite quickly and after talking it over with family members and friends, we are of the thinking that I may need to wait. 
Thanking you in advance~

 
 


One of the foods that the Kingfisher most probably was hunting, was once again, those Green Frogs. 
Guess they only get a break, come Winter...sigh!
 


The Kingfisher chased around, making noise and switched tree perches a few times, before leaving my view. 
It made me very happy and I was to find out later, I was not finished seeing this bird yet~
 
 
 


This area is so peaceful and there are always Ducks and Geese in the area too~
 
 
 



Next stop was Brown Park.
The park lies as a bird flies less than a 1/2 mile from Draut Park, where previous post images above were taken~
 

 
 
Can you see the Belted Kingfisher in the images above and below?
Wonder how often I was this close, and never knew...
There is hardly a doubt that this was the same bird, that I took images of earlier.
 
 


Nice, a tiny bit of Autumn foliage helped to brighten these few images~
 
 
 

 
 
 
It took a while to walk this park's beautiful paths, and I arrived at the last little cross bridge, just in time to see the ducks taking a nap. 
I was sure wishing I were at home taking a nap about then too!
 
At this point, something happened to my already injured knee. 
For 3 years this coming December, it has from time to time come alive with "Arthur".
 
Bummers! 
Suddenly Tremendous Pain! 
OUCH!
I have a high threshold for pain, but not last Monday!
 
I have been on medications ever since, and next Tuesday I will have a surgical procedure to hopefully get me ready for our upcoming journey next month.
 
Keeping on with doing life, and thankful too~



 

27 comments:

  1. the ducks are sweet, and congrats on the kingfisher! the area looks so lush and nice lake levels, too!

    i hope your knee surgery goes well!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your photos and collages are so beautifully done, and packed with such good "eye candy". LOVE it that you finally captured some Kingfisher photos!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats on your discovery!!! Very exciting to find the bird you hope to observe:) Looks like a beautiful place to bird as well!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary, the Kingfisher is wonderful; I have always wanted to get a picture of the kind of Kingfisher we have here (I'm away from my bird books right now, so I can't even pretend to be smart)..it is really neat that you saw him twice like that. And as always your mosaics are superb!

    I wish you the very best of luck with your knee surgery; I bet you will feel better than you have for a long time when it is all healed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You lucky ducky for spotting and bagging that belted kingfisher!
    Sorry to hear about your knee, they can be such pesky things when they want to be.
    Thank you for being such a caring friend in my time of trouble. Very much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice pictures - I really like when a plan comes together.

    Although I dont think knee problems are part of many of our plans! Hope you an get it sorted out.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  7. Super images Mary, and I love the Kingfisher. I've only seen one of these once, but only for a couple of seconds and didn't get a shot of it. I was on vacation in Colorado at the time.

    My best wishes for the knee surgery on Tuesday - Richard

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kingfishers are hard little guys to photograph. We've got some at a lake here, but I've never been able to get very close. Congratulations on your shots!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Belted kingfishers are not easy to capture with your lens. Congrats for acting quickly!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mary so glad you found and got to photograph that Kingfisher. A magical bird, me thinks. Hope you find some relief from that knee pain. Had my share, as you know. Had my store bought knees 10 years now. I was told they should last over 15 years if I treat them right. That gives me 5 more to age 80, I bet I am not worrying about them. There are a lot of new procedures out there now. There will be something come along. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  11. to see the Belted Kingfisher IS a treat. :) Love your images.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely spot on the planet, Mary! So glad that you finally captured the Kingfisher and shared it with us.

    Just looked through your book, Hush to Hear the Whisper. It is packed with beauty, and I'm amazed by all your wonderful photos of birds in flight.

    Praying that your surgery goes remarkably well.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely collages! The Kingfisher is grand!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Congrats on your Kingfisher shots. They are quick and shy birds. Wonderful mosaics and photos, Mary!

    ReplyDelete
  15. We hope to have the kingfisher arrive at our back yard lake pretty soon. They usually are here all winter. Although every knee is different, i resisted having the arthroscopy for my bucket-handle meniscus tear(and had trouble tolerating the PT), and instead regained strength and mobility with leg exercises and walking as much as tolerated. Got rid of the cane in a few weeks but it took me the better part of a year to regain full mobility. I still have my own cartilage to cushion the knee joint.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a thrill for you. Lovely bird and putting on a show for you too... The park looks wonderful, superb setting to do a little bird watching. Happy Days

    ReplyDelete
  17. So pleased you finally caught up with the kingfisher Mary. Everything comes etc, etc,. And then not only did you see and photograph the bird once but twice. Kingfishers are such special birds you must be so pleased to get such lovely pictures which show the bird not only in its natural surroundings but also show how elusive and overlooked they can be just sitting silently. Well done and I'm hoping you get lots more pictures. Knee pain can be such a drain on energy - I know as I have osteoarthritis, another advantage of being older and wiser I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Belted Kingfisher is so good looking, I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Beautiful shot of Belted Kingfisher !!
    It is very difficult to take pictures of this bird. Kingfisher is so wild.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Amazing!!! I've seen only ONE kingfisher here in our area, and it was at a great distance from me, so my photo I got was NOTHING compared to your images!!

    By the way, the questions on my Wednesday post are not mine, but it's also a meme I participate in called "Wednesday Hodgepodge" where I copy her questions and answer them; linking up on HER blog. So, there is no need to answer them in your comment if you wish.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh aren't the kingfishers wonderful? I love the gattling call of them as they dive into the pond. Lucky you to get to see them and the green herons... I am sorry about your knee.. it can be so very painful and disruptive to daily activities..Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  22. Very lovely kingfisher bird. I have not seen it before.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I am glad that you got your kingfisher....he is just lovely. I enjoyed all of the photos immensely! :)

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond" I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments.
FYI if you leave ANONYMOUS comments, they will never get published, so please don't waste your time.

Thanking you~