UPDATE – 24th March 2008
May I begin with a few belated responses to some of the lovely comments made since my last post:-
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Originally Posted by John  Hands up those that want a WAB meet in Jeff's garden. John |
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John- If I could only guarantee the timing of the pair’s visits to my garden and we weren’t dealing with a Schedule 1 protected species, I’d seriously consider a Gigrin-style Kingfisher viewing event for WAB members!
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Originally Posted by PMG Ah but its paid off hasn't it - even if you never took another kingfisher pic! Pauline |
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I can't argue with that
Pauline!
Lippy113 and DavyG – thank you both for your kind words and encouragement.
Well folks, quite a lot’s been happening since my last update of the 9th March with these resilient and resourceful birds having been rather indecisive about their nest building plans during the last two weeks, the main reason being that unfortunately the water level surrounding their nesting territory has been going up and down like a yo-yo.
Regular followers of this Diary may recall that in my update of 17th February I mentioned that after the winter rains the water level had risen to an all-time high, then being at least 15 – 18 inches higher than I’d ever seen it before and actually above the level of the nesthole used last year. During the 3 weeks between the 17th February and the 9th March the water level dropped by at least 6 inches but by the latter date it was still above the level of last year’s nesthole.
As a result and as reported in my last update, the birds had started work on the renovation of an older (and higher) nesthole. However, during the following week the water level continued to drop and by the 15th March had fallen to just below the level of last year’s nesthole. I arrived on site before first light on the morning of the 15th and put my dome hide into position overlooking the older nesthole I’d last seen the birds working on. However, when the birds turned up as dawn broke I realised that they’d apparently switched their attention to the cleaning out of last year’s nesthole – leaving me (and my camera) facing completely the wrong way!
As I didn’t want to disturb the birds I was stuck in this position (with my view of the birds being partially obscured by a bush) for more than an hour until a dog-walker went by and caused them both to fly off. I then took the opportunity to quickly re-position my hide and by the time the birds returned I was all set up overlooking the other/correct nesthole. But guess what – when they came back they went straight to the first nesthole, again leaving me facing the wrong way!! At the time I was not amused but I can now see the funny side of it, and I’m sure you all will!!!
Here’s a photo of the female scraping her beak clean on a branch after a digging session –
After this it became apparent that the birds were seemingly still undecided which nesthole to use, with both of them flitting between the two nestholes and calling to each other constantly as if discussing the merits of each – if only I could speak/understand Kingfisher language! They also showed some considerable interest in the newly created section of vertical banking I dug for them last November (as mentioned in my update of 19th November) with both birds flying at the banking and taking pecks at it at least 10 times and as if conducting some sort of soil survey to check the suitability for a further nesthole. Unfortunately I suspect that bit of banking is too stony for them –
see photo -
Then to further complicate matters, on Sunday the 16th March we had some very heavy rain here and the water level went up again to about half way up last year’s nesthole – that nesthole is the one shown here, before the latest rise in the water level – see photo
When I visited the site first thing on Tuesday the 18th I found both the birds sitting quite close together on a branch overlooking last year’s nesthole, calling to each other very gently and looking rather forlornly at the now partially flooded entrance hole. They did this for nearly 20 minutes and made quite a pitiful sight – see photo
After that they resumed work on the other/higher nesthole with the male going in for several minutes and emerging in a very muddy condition.
Another factor which may have contributed to their indecision/switch of nestholes was my discovery of what appeared to be evidence of Badger digging immediately above the nesthole they had originally been working on. As mentioned in my update of 17th February, there’s a newly discovered Badger sett less than 50 metres from the nest site and the Badgers have clearly been gathering bedding and have been digging around (presumably for worms) right up to the water’s edge. My fear is (or was) that the Badgers’ digging at ground level may have caused the original nesthole tunnel to partially collapse – what a problem eh? – how to shelter the breeding activities of one protected species from the feeding activities of another? However, I’m pleased to say that since my initial discovery of the Badger-dug holes the Badgers seem to have lost interest in that particular area.
Throughout this period the birds’ usual courtship activities have continued with the male bringing in fish and passing them to the female. However, on several occasions the male has turned up with a fish, been approached by the open-beaked female (obviously expecting him to pass it to her) but has then moved away from her and eaten it himself – perhaps he’s playing hard to get? - see photo
On one occasion the female even knocked him into the water as she tried to take the fish! Then again, on several occasions he’s turned up with a fish for her during her absence and has spent several minutes calling/looking for her before deciding to eat it himself – see photos
Of course I can’t be absolutely sure that this is the same pair of birds that nested here last year, though they do seem to have the same favourite perches and general habits as previously. Having said that, a 2nd female continues to put in occasional appearances but is quickly chased off by the male. Incidentally, it’s apparently fairly common for some males to be polygamous with research from Russia and Sweden suggesting that up to 35% of males may pair with 2 females and in at least one reported case with 3!!
For the last couple of days and with the water level still high, the birds have continued to focus their attentions on the original/higher nesthole, though with more than 2” of snow falling yesterday and now melted away the water is currently lapping around the bottom edge of that hole and if we have any further significant rainfall during the next week or so their use of it will be seriously threatened – fingers crossed for a nice dry spell.
Incidentally and if anyone is interested, I’ve already posted onto the
Gallery some photos I took during yesterday’s snowfall. I actually arrived on site before dawn and before it started to snow and then spent more than 3 hours tucked up in my hide as the deepest snow we’ve had for several years fell around me. The snow didn’t seem to bother the birds one bit – in fact they both took the opportunity to have a good preen and here’s some photos of the female ‘combing’ her feathers during the snow shower –
I was round there again first thing this morning and got what I think are probably my best shots yet of the birds mating – a rapid fire sequence of 19 shots using my new Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens with a 1.4 TC. However, the images are rather 'noisy' (even after some filtering) due to the need to use high ISO because of poor light. Here’s a few from that sequence plus some more shots I think you might like –
Finally, I'll let you know how things develop.
Jeff
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