Bird Battle: Belted Kingfisher vs. Merlin
Little did I know that on my last trip up into the Wasatch Mountains, that I would witness a battle between a Belted Kingfisher and my first-of-season Merlin.
Little did I know that on my last trip up into the Wasatch Mountains, that I would witness a battle between a Belted Kingfisher and my first-of-season Merlin.
Yesterday morning I photographed Cliff Swallows gathering nesting materials and fighting in bright morning light high in the Wasatch Mountains.
The last birds I photographed in 2017 were American Coots and some of the first birds I took photos of in 2018 were also coots.
While observing American Coots I can see that they are feisty, pugnacious and aggressive in their behaviors and they don't seem to take any guff from each other.
American Coots are quarrelsome birds and they are quick to give chase whether it is over food or territory and they will fight, sometimes even to death, for both.