With the hot weather, I have been doing a lot of ‘Auto tours’ or as I call them, ‘Looking for Stuff’ trips.  One of my favorite touring loops is turning into Birch Ridge Road off of Millbrook Road in Blairstown.  I go in a short distance, go past the YMCA Camp Mason and then turn left onto Shannon Road. 

Shannon Road has a beautiful wetlands area just off the road to the left and then you drive a little further, passing by an old lime-kiln and then come to a small dammed pond on the right. 

Friday, July 24, I am slowly driving along Shannon Road and approaching this pond, when I noticed this female Belted Kingfisher atop a fallen tree over the water.  This is my first sighting of a Kingfisher!!  Took several photos and she flew over to a smaller branch over the pond; took several more photos. 

I continued my loop getting back onto Birch Ridge Road.  When I reached Shannon Road again, decided to make another loop.  Reaching this pond again, the Kingfisher was still there!!  He flew off and landed on a tree overlooking wetlands adjacent to the pond and that is where I zoomed in and took Our Photo of the Week!! 

NOTE:  The water in this pond looks brown, that is because it is clear and you are seeing the bottom of the pond!!  REMEMBER, Kingfishers need clear water!!

Also FYI I saw a mother bear and two adorable cubs on my first loop going down Birch Ridge Road.  What a wonderful area we live in!!  I believe you will find this Belted Kingfisher to be a very interesting Wildlife neighbor, I found them to be fascinating doing my research!!!

DESCRIPTION

Belted Kingfishers are stocky, large-headed birds with a shaggy crest on the top and back of the head and a straight, thick, pointed bill.  They can range 11-13.8 inches and weigh between 4.9 and 6 ounces. Male and females are similar in size and shape. Their legs are short and their tails are medium length and square tipped.  Their wingspan ranges from 18.9-22.8 inches. They are the only member of the Kingfisher group commonly found in North America and was even depicted on the Canadian $5 note in 1986.

COLOR PATTERN

These Kingfishers are blue-gray above with fine, white spotting on the wings and tail.  The underparts are white with a broad, blue breast band.  Females also have a broad rusty band on their bellies.  Juveniles show irregular rusty spotting in the breast band.

BEHAVIOR

Belted Kingfisher spend much of their time perched alone along the edges of streams, lakes and estuaries, searching for small fish.  They also fly quickly up and down rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls.  They hunt either by plunging directly from a perch, or by hovering over the water, bill downward, before diving after a fish they’ve spotted.  Belted Kingfishers hunt using a sit-and-wait strategy, from a perch with a clear view over their feeding territory.  CLEAR WATER is essential for successful hunting, as they need an accurate fix on its aquatic prey before it strikes.  This bird’s diet consists mostly of fish species that live in shallow water or swim near the surface, but Belted Kingfishers will also take crayfish, insects, frogs, snakes, young birds and small mammals.  After capturing a small creature, the kingfisher returns to its perch and subdues its meal, then it positions the prey so that it is swallowed head-first.  Like some owls, adult kingfishers regurgitate pellets composed of indigestible parts of their meals, such as bones, shells and scales.

HABITAT

Kingfishers live near water: streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and estuaries.  They nest in burrows or tunnels that they dig with special flat toes with pointed claws. These tunnels, dug into soft earthen banks, are usually very close to water.  The tunnel, which can be one to eight feet long, slopes upward from the entrance, probably to keep water from flooding the nest chamber where the female lays her eggs. 

A nest tunnel can take several weeks to dig, and may be reused from year to year.  

TUNNELING FOR TWO:  Sometimes swallows share kingfisher tunnels, digging out small rooms themselves in the walls.  Wonder how the Kingfishers feel about that???  Any rent???        

Kingfishers spend winters in areas where the water doesn’t freeze so that they can access their aquatic foods. Belted Kingfishers winter in the lower 48 states, especially the warmer ones, and South through northern South America, including the Galapagos Islands.

The Story Behind the Kingfisher’s Name

The Belted Kingfisher’s scientific species name is Megaceryle alcyon, which comes from the Greek word halcyon, which was their name for the kingfisher. 

Alcyone was the goddess of peace and tranquility and the daughter of the god of wind, Aeolus. She and her husband angered Zeus and were drowned, but were then turned into beautiful kingfishers by more compassionate gods. Each year, Aeolus calmed the ocean winds so Alcyone could safely nest and raise her young on the ocean’s surface. 

Although we know now that kingfishers do not rest on the ocean’s surface, we still use a related expression, ‘halcyon days,’ to describe a period of calm days at sea in mid-winter. It has also come to mean any idyllic period of calm and peace.

Watch these birds in action, see their habitats, and listen to their calls in these wonderful videos.

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran