Subject: Re: Kingfisher nesting habits (me2 reply to Kelly)
Date: Mar 4 11:26:52 1997
From: Maureen Ellis - me2 at u.washington.edu


Kelly, last summer I witnessed behavior from a Kingfisher that suggested
it "might" have a nest in the marina side of the rock-jetty above the
tide line in Des Moines, WA. There are plenty of loose, sandy bluffs here
that are ideal nesting sites for the Kingfishers. I filed this
observation in the back of mind as something to watch for again with more
diligent observation and documentation. It would make an interesting
adaptation to these seaside residents; how would they protect the nest
against the rats that also forage on the jetty? I could imagine that the
loose rock structure of the jetty could provide ready-made tunnels and
even sand deposits that might be attractive to the Kingfishers. I'll keep
watching.

A perusal of Bent's Life Histories documented tree cavity nesting in
Eastern USA Kingfishers that were far from suitable burrow-compatible bank
sites. No tree cavity or any other cavity nesting, other than in excavated
bank or bluff burrows, has been reported (that I know of) in Western
populations of Kingfishers. So I am aware that "extraordinary claims
require extraordinary evidence."

On the watch,
Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA
**********************************************************************
On Tue, 4 Mar 1997, Kelly Cassidy wrote:

> Hey, look, it's a local bird topic!
>
> A few weeks ago, someone posted that they had seen Kingfishers nesting in
> rocks. Kingfishers supposedly do not nest in rocks. Could that person
> repost with more information: date, site location, specifics about why you
> thought the birds were breeding, etc. I'm also interested in anyone else
> who has good evidence of Kingfisher's nesting in rock or gravel (instead
> of the usual sand bank). It's for the WA Breeding Bird Atlas and you will
> be cited if evidence of breeding is convincing.
>
> Kelly Cassidy
>
>