Hello, Tweets.

While at the Keystone ferry landing yesterday I observed what to me seemed
extraordinary behavior on the part of a pair of kingfishers. I'm wondering
if anyone else has ever observed anything similar.

The birds appeared to be an adult male and female which followed each other
in looping circles, high and low, for -- I kid you not -- at least 20
minutes of sustained flight. Most of the time they were silent, rattling at
each other only on occasion. During this time they never stopped to perch,
and the only interruption in their flight occurred when the female would
flop into the water. (I only saw the male do this - following the female -
a couple times, but he was usually out of binocular field when I was
concentrating on the details of the female's behavior.) She did this 6-7
times. She would swoop as low as a foot or so above the water and fly for
several meters before belly-flopping into the surface with a splash. She
did not seem intent on catching anything (she wasn't looking down into the
water); once down, she'd either sit there for a split second and then
paddle her feet and jump back into the air, or else paddle immediately and
resume flying. Sometimes she'd shake water off in flight and I wondered if
it was a method of bathing.

I know I must have been watching them for at least five minutes when I
heard the 12:30 mill whistle. After that I sidled back to the car, eyes
still following the birds, and fumbled to dig out my watch and keep track.
They flew in big circles over the water near the boat launch, then over
toward the trees of Ft. Casey, then back, at times banking high into the
wind. It looked rather "fun." (The wind was gathering strength, and later
the ferry was stopped for a few hours until the crossing became less
hazardous!) One of the birds finally stopped on a piling at 12:46, but kept
its wings raised vertically (displaying to the other bird as it passed by?)
and launched itself into the air again. They were still flying around with
only the briefest of stops on the pilings when I left at 1:00.

Any idea what they were doing? It doesn't seem like the time of year for
courtship -- or could they be maintaining a pair bond? It also did not
appear to be a dispute over territory. Could they have just been "playing"
in the wind? Any and all ideas are welcome!

On another note, I got a brief look at a couple of meadowlarks as they
flutter-glided into the grass by Crockett Lake. How common are they
westside in winter? Other birds were species to be expected at this time of
year, including thousands of dunlin and a gorgeous Rough-legged Hawk that
swooped over my car.

-- Janet Hardin
Port Townsend, WA
wings at olympus.net