Scott Richardson wrote:

<< Last point first: Belted Kingfishers don't really "build" nests; they dig a
burrow and lay eggs in the end of it. If there's any nesting "material," it's
fish scales and bones.

Male kingfishers are known to present females with fish (courtship feeding),
but I've read nothing about them using unnatural articles as surrogate fish.
I
can't offer any explanation for the cloth/plastic carrying behavior; any
chance
it was a fish? >>

The 'object' carried by the flying bird was a dirty white, about what I would
guess would be about an inch or inch and a half protruding from its mouth. I
first saw the bird at a distance of 60 feet or so. I was on the river trail,
and the bird was near the water level about 15 or 20 feet below trail/bank
level. I would not rule out a fish, but
the object was dull in color. There is a lot of garbage material caught in
the brush and trees on the bank from high water over the Winter. I just
thought it may have been a piece of that.

<< I hope you have a chance to re-visit this spot. Perhaps you'll discover a
nest
along that stretch of the Green River. Remember that kingfishers are sensitive
to disturbance, though. >>

I have walked the trail along this spot 2 or more times a week this Winter. I
think that it was 3 or 4 weeks ago I reported to Tweeters seeing a single
Kingfisher right at the golf course bridge, so I have been watching for them,
and had not seen any more until yesterday. Now that I have seen 2 together, I
know about where there nesting site (?) is and will continue to look for them
and keep you posted. If anyone else traverses this Green River trail (there
are lots of pedestrians and bikers) the place I saw them is in about the
center of the par 3 golf course (across Meeker from Riverbend Golf Course) on
the river.

Jim Brewster
Kent