KINGFISHER DIARY 2009 (with photos)

[JeffH]

KINGFISHER DIARY 2009 (with photos)

Please note – although this is a new thread for 2009 anyone wanting to read my Kingfisher Diary for the 2007 and 2008 breeding seasons will find it here -
Kingfisher Diary (with photos)

Great news – they’re back

I’ve been visiting the nesting territory throughout the winter months but have had precious few sightings of the birds, particularly during the recent very cold and prolonged spell of bad weather when the water surface was completely frozen over for days at a time and giving the birds little opportunity for fishing. In fact, I became very concerned for their survival and half-hoped that they may have moved on to one of the local rivers or even towards the coast to improve their prospects.

Since the beginning of this month I’ve been round to the site on a more regular basis, as in previous years the birds have usually paired up by mid-February. However, until today I had neither seen nor heard a single Kingfisher there so far this month.

This morning I walked round at just after 7am and on my way there I met one of the local dog walkers who told me he’d seen a pair flying along one of the local drainage ditches (I’m now quite well known locally as ‘the Kingfisher man’ ).

Sure enough, after only 10 minutes or so in my on-site hide I heard and saw one of the birds fly in and around the site. Minutes later it landed on one of the perches I’d put in place last year and I was able to identify it as a male.

A 2nd bird then flew into the area towards the nesthole used last year and the male followed it.

Although they were out of my vision I could hear lots of excited calling between the birds and became hopeful that both male and female birds were present rather than two males.

I watched as the birds made two rapid and noisy aerial laps of the site but was still uncertain as to whether or not they were a pair or just two competing males.

Then one of the birds landed on a perch right in front of my hide - a female – thus confirming that they were indeed male and female and, hopefully, a breeding pair.

After watching both birds fly off I walked round to the nesthole area and immediately spotted an old nesthole with a small pile of fresh soil below it on the waterline. The birds had clearly been working on it and as I took up a position in the undergrowth from which to observe the hole one of the birds flew in and perched beside it before flying off again a few seconds later.

I then left the site to let the birds continue their home-building in peace and with the feeling that things are looking good .

Readers of last year’s Diary may recall that the birds were flooded out three times during the early part of the 2008 breeding season . However, with the water level at the site currently near its all-time high and with the nesthole the birds are working on being a foot or so above the water at the moment, their prospects for successfully raising a brood at the first attempt this year are much better.

Finally, I’ve no photos to post from today’s visit (I didn’t even take my camera – thus ensuring that I’d see something ) so as a taster for what will hopefully follow as the season progresses here’s a photo from last year which has recently won me ‘Photo of the Month’ for January 2009 on the international photography website
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More news as it happens .

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

*****************************************
REMINDER
As a fairly uncommon and easily disturbed bird, the Kingfisher is afforded the highest degree of legal protection under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If you “intentionally or recklessly” disturb a Kingfisher (or any other Schedule 1 listed species) whilst trying to photograph it “in, on, at or near” the nest or whilst it has dependent young, and without the necessary Licence from Natural England, you may be committing a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 6 months.
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[Dae]

Great news on having the kingfishers back! Can't wait to hear how they get on and to see new photos. Congrats on winning with that photo, it's a great shot.

[pressld2]

Great news Jeff! Glad they're back and looking forward to this year's diary.

Well done on winning the photo competition too - a great shot!

Dave P.

[ron1863]

Great news and I for one am looking forward to more of your beautiful Kingfisher shots.

[Hedge Witch]

That shot is stunning, Jeff, well done. It's great to hear that the Kingfishers are doing so well and I'm looking forward to reading your diary

[Pam_M]

An excellent shot, Jeff! Congratulations!

I shall look forward to reading your Kingfisher Diary 2009!

[JeffH]

Thanks Jen, Dave P, Ron, Hedge Witch and Pam for your kind words.

I just hope that the 2009 breeding season lives up to expectations

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[DavyG]

Excellent start to your 2009 Kingfisher Diary Jeff, written in your usual, descriptive, style.

Well done on winning Photo of the Month with your photograph, it's easy to see why.

Dave

[PMG]

Sounding promising and congrats on the win - well deserved

[pammosley]

I bet you had the biggest of grins on your face as you walked home
Great news & I look forward to following their progress. Thanks for taking the time & effort with this thread
Pam

[Deer Stalker]

Good to hear Jeff. The Kingfishers come back on the New Forest streams about now.

[Keith Talbot]

good news jeff,

fingers crossed for a good 2009

[Ollie]

Good news Jeff and a great start to this years diary. I look forward to reading more.

[Picidae]

Positive start to the new season Jeff, look forward to hearing more.

Just a couple of questions.

Re: last year's fledglings - what would happen after fledging? Do the youngsters move on then to find new territories or do they stay in the area?

How long does it take for them to reach maturity? Do 2cy Spring birds breed or do they not reach breeding stage until their 3cy.

Oh ... ok ... another little one ... Is it possible to age Kingfisher after the first post juvenile moult?

[Meta menardi]

All I ever see is a flash of blue, thanks for giving us without the time, skill and patience to see what we will never see otherwise.

[wend5000]

Please can i come to yours! your pics are amazing as always!

Hoping to get some pics soon (prob at a reserve- as dont want to disturb the breeding pairs!)

Well done!

Wendy
x

[nightowl57]

Thank you for taking the time for the 2009 Diary, I am looking forward to this. I saw a Kingfisher from a hide on sunday, (my husband saw it first and almost fell off his seat from jumping up and down trying to point out where it was! ) The people in the hide, just sat in dead silence observing this beautiful bird whilist he preened himself. It was amazing. I learned from reading your diaries how to tell the difference between a male and female, which impressed my husband....Thanks!

[JeffH]

Thank you all for your very encouraging comments - it's your continuing interest that makes maintaining the Diary worthwhile

In answer to some of the points/queries raised:-

Originally Posted by pammosley

I bet you had the biggest of grins on your face as you walked home ..........Pam

You're absolutely right Pam - I did

Originally Posted by Picidae

Re: last year's fledglings - what would happen after fledging? Do the youngsters move on then to find new territories or do they stay in the area?

The parent birds feed their young for only 2-4 days after fledging and by which time (and in theory) the young birds are capable of fishing for themselves, though in my experience some much better than others.

Meanwhile, the parents will generally have started a 2nd (or even 3rd) brood.

Although the independent (?) youngsters will tend to stay in the area and find their own favourite fishing perches, within a few days the territorial instincts kick in and the parent birds will drive them off, leaving their young to find their own territories - if they can. Sadly mortality rates are high and it's thought that within a week or so of fledging it is rare to find more than half a brood alive and by the following breeding season some 75% will have perished.

Originally Posted by Picidae

How long does it take for them to reach maturity? Do 2cy Spring birds breed or do they not reach breeding stage until their 3cy.

Yes, 2cy birds will breed in their first Spring after fledging (incidentally and for those unfamiliar with the terminolgy, '2cy' means 2nd calendar year)

Originally Posted by Picidae

Oh ... ok ... another little one ... Is it possible to age Kingfisher after the first post juvenile moult?

So far as I'm aware ageing is not possible with any accuracy, though it is said that the orange/red colouring of the feet gets brighter with age and, in some birds, the transition of the feet colouring from the dark juvenile stage to the bright orange/red adult stage is slower than in others.

For instance, the female of last year's successful local breeding pair was still showing some darkness on her feet (indicating that she was definitely a 2cy bird) even after the fledging of her 2nd brood in late August, as shown by this photo from last year's diary of the young Mum (2nd from left) with 3 of her fledglings -



If anyone else has any questions please feel free to ask them and I'll do my best to answer.

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[NicolaB]

So glad that they've returned Looking forward to more diary updates and stunning pictures.

[Picidae]

Thanks Jeff for taking the trouble to answer all my questions! I'm sure there'll be more as the season progresses and who better to ask than the 'man on the ground' as it were

Super shot in the first post btw .... I'm sure good anticipation of their behaviour arising from such close studies in the field must help with the photography too!

[smartie]

Great news, Jeff. Looking forward to developments.

And well done on the photography competition. Wonderful shot.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by Picidae

Thanks Jeff for taking the trouble to answer all my questions! I'm sure there'll be more as the season progresses and who better to ask than the 'man on the ground' as it were

You're welcome Picidae

Originally Posted by Picidae

Super shot in the first post btw .... I'm sure good anticipation of their behaviour arising from such close studies in the field must help with the photography too!

Thank you and you're absolutely right - in my opinion the single most important factor in wildlife photography is know your subject

And thank you too NicolaB and smartie for your kind words

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

[JeffH]

UPDATE 3rd March 2009

Well folks, I’m pleased to report that the pair mentioned in my opening post of last week now seem well established in the nesting territory with egg laying apparently underway

I have visited the site at about 7am’ish for the last 3 mornings and each time have seen the pair together near the nesthole, with the female entering the hole for a few minutes on each occasion – presumably to lay.

Kingfishers lay one egg a day, a typical clutch size being 5 – 7 with the female usually laying her eggs at approximately the same time each day and often with the male ‘standing guard’ outside the nesthole while she does so. Based on my recent viewings I reckon we’re now at the 3+ egg stage.

The pair seem to have passed through the courtship phase very quickly – which leads me to think that they are probably the same pair from last year, as with established pairs the courtship routines are often much shorter than with a newly formed pairing (any comparisons with human behaviour are purely coincidental )

I haven’t yet seen any fish passes or copulation taking place but, as happened last year, the pair have selected a nesthole which is rather badly positioned for observation/photography (they do like to make me work ), though over the last 3 days I have managed to assemble a screen hide in the undergrowth overlooking the nesthole and from which I can see most (but not all) of the immediate area and with several large trees/bushes obscuring my view at some angles. Needless to say, the birds seem to have a tendency to perch in some of these out of view positions often with just a tantalising reflection in the water beneath them revealing their presence.

From a photographic point of view the location of the nesthole presents some further challenges, being in quite heavy shade but with lots of bright light filtering in through the trees immediately around it and causing some distracting light flashes/patterns in many of the shots I’ve taken so far. The hole also faces west, meaning that I’m shooting into the sun during my early morning visits. Still, I shouldn’t complain really – I’m just happy they’re back .

Here’s a couple of my better shots so far -

This one shows some of the distracting light patterns I mentioned -



and this one shows the problem of the trees in the way -



Interestingly, although the nesthole they are using is an old one they have actually dug a new entrance tunnel just to the right and slightly below the old one – as shown in the photo below. However, given the speed with which they’ve reached their current stage and the relatively small amount of soil removed, I’m convinced that the new tunnel must link up with the old one and uses the original nest chamber.



Finally, many readers of last year’s Diary will know that I like taking behavioural and ‘quirky’ shots. This last one shows the bird shaking off water, having just come out of the nesthole and taken a cleansing dip before landing on the perch to dry itself off. Technically a far from perfect shot but I do like the effect of the water droplets flying off around the bird -



More news as it happens

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers and Barn Owls)

*****************************************
REMINDER
As a fairly uncommon and easily disturbed bird, the Kingfisher is afforded the highest degree of legal protection under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If you “intentionally or recklessly” disturb a Kingfisher (or any other Schedule 1 listed species) whilst trying to photograph it “in, on, at or near” the nest or whilst it has dependent young, and without the necessary Licence from Natural England, you may be committing a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 6 months.
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[Ukwildlifeo]

That last shot is fantastic. I look forard to more

[jaykay]

absolutely brilliant photo's, keep them coming. thanks