Hello Franny & tweets,
I have seen Kingfishers using cavity nests they carved out of solid
mud riverbanks, usually several feet above the water. I have never heard
of them using a wooden cavity.
Similarly, though I have heard of a few occasions where woodpeckers
used boxes, my experience is that they prefer to carve out their own
cavities. I once watched a Pileated carving out a huge hole in a dying
alder; large chunks of wood went flying in the hour-long project.
However, that hole never got utilized.
My feeling is that nest boxes for these two groups of birds is a
waste of time. Maybe it would be better to speed nature along and create
spar trees.
Janet Partlow
partlowj at elwha.evergreen.edu

On Tue, 25 Feb 1997, Franny Drobny wrote:

>
> Does anyone have any experience with nesting boxes for kingfishers? Someone
> I work with has a large bird house for flickers and woodpeckers. Since the
> box is near the water (Lopez Island) and there are kingfishers around, is
> there any chance the kingfishers might use the birdhouse? Does anyone know
> where they nest or in what type of habitat?
>
> Franny Drobny
> Seattle, Washington
> fdrobny at cairncross.com
>