I hear the Belted Kingfisher rattle-call often in the morning

I hear the rattle call of the Belted Kingfisher before dawn. I make out its fast-flying form though, until this week, have not taken a photograph because of low light. I grabbed my camera when this Kingfisher landed on a Southern Live Oak tree limb mid-morning. She didn't stay long, her eye on the pond to grab a fish. She? That rust-colored marking identifies her as female.

The Kingfisher is easy to notice while driving. They often sit on wires near water. Driving back from the keys and just entering the Everglades, in less than three miles, I counted 7. That said, Audubon says that "recent surveys indicate declines in [their] population" and that they "may be vulnerable to loss of nesting sites and to disturbance during the breeding season."

Kingfishers use their claws and beaks to tunnel through muddy banks to build their nesting burrows that can be 3 to 8 feet long. I saw a pair last year, but so far this spring, I've only sighted a female. To date, I haven't found a Kingfisher burrow. 

A link to interesting Kingfisher facts.