Specialty birds in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, TX - Part 8 - Green Parakeet & Green Kingfisher

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This blog entry continues the reports on my efforts to capture images of birds that, in the United States, are seen primarily in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The Green Parakeet & Green Kingfisher are featured in this post.

The combination of the Olympus OM-1 camera and the 150-400 mm f/4.5 TC lens was used to capture the images of the parakeets and the last photo of the kingfisher. The first two photos of the kingfisher were taken on my first visit to the Rio Grande Valley in 2017 with a Nikon D500 and a 500mm f/4 lens with 1.4x teleconverter attached.

Green Parakeets, McAllen, Texas
Focal length: 500 mm, 1/1000 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800

The Green Parakeet has a long pointed tail, a yellow beak, and an orange-red iris. The green of the upper parts is darker than the green of the underparts.

Green Parakeets, McAllen, Texas
Focal length: 500 mm, 1/1250 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800

Green Parakeets, McAllen, Texas
Focal length: 500 mm, 1/640 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1600

The natural range of the Green Parakeet is in Mexico and northern Central America, an area that extends almost to the Texas border. The species is established in the United States in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (see the small purple dot). It is not known if that sub-population was derived from introduced individuals or by natural dispersion.

Green Kingfisher at Estero Llano Grande State Park, TX
Focal length: 700 mm, 1/1000 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 4000

The Green Kingfisher has a large beak, a short tail, and a white collar. The upperparts are green with white spots. Two green chest bands interrupt the white underparts of the female whereas the breast of the male is covered by a broad, rusty-colored band.

Green Kingfisher at Estero Llano Grande State Park, TX
Focal length: 700 mm, 1/1000 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 4000

Green Kingfisher at Estero Llano Grande State Park, TX
Focal length: 500 mm, 1/3200 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 4000

The range of the Green Kingfisher extends from south Texas and Arizona through central America and much of South America.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.