Belted Kingfisher Female

@Helen: Thanks Helen.

I am fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest, which is teeming with wildlife. Also, for some reason, most animals don't find me particularly menacing and get quite close. (I'm no Dian Fossey, or Grizzly Adams, but I seem similarly afflicted.) So, I don't have to be very patient or particularly quiet, just alone.

I shoot for beauty first. I then reverse-engineer the knowledge portion by speaking to birders, then confirming identification using... (Insert drum-roll)... books. (Shocking!)

My best resource has truly been the local bird-watchers, who stop to ask questions, and then end up teaching more than they learn. (People tend to see a telephoto lens, and assume I know what I'm talking about.) I consistently claim total ignorance, usually resulting in a flood of well-meaning, enthusiastic information of questionable accuracy. Thus the aforementioned books.

I gave up stalking wildlife one sunny afternoon many years ago when dozing in a grassy field. I opened my eyes to find a mother raccoon and two pups eating the peanuts I had brought to feed the squirrels. They sat right on my picnic blanket with me, close enough to touch (though I didn't.) I decided that holding still and waiting for the animals was a much more comfortable and rewarding proposition than hunting them down, and it has proved quite effective since.

Anyhow, thanks a million. I am humbled once again by your consistent enthusiasm and praise.

Cheers.