In early December I made one of my forays around the county searching for photographic opportunities.

One of my best findings on this outing was this Belted kingfisher I found on West March Point Road.  Although it’s not evident from this photo, this bird lacks a rust-colored belt across the breast, making it a male.  The Belted kingfisher is something of an anomaly in the bird world in that the female is more colorful than the male.  Kingfishers are usually difficult to photograph because they are very sensitive to both humans and vehicles, so it is difficult to get close enough for good photos.

This is a Red-breasted merganser, but after consulting several birding guides I can’t make a determination as to whether it is a male in non-breeding plumage or a female.  Many years ago I took a similar photo and had several birders advocating for both options.

This is a Lincoln sparrow I found on Fir Island.  I usually identify the birds based on the inverted horseshoe formed by buffy-colored feathers on the bird’s breast, most evident in the second of these photos.  I don’t consider these birds easy to find, so it’s always exciting to me to encounter and photograph one.