Belted Kingfisher

This time of year is a delight, as I slowly start to see returning or emerging species that haven't been around for the winter. In the past couple of weeks, a belted king fisher has become a daily visitor on the Wood River in front of my office window. These boisterous birds make their presence known by conspicuously flying back and forth low over the water while giving out a long, rattling cry. They are a little larger than a robin, with blue gray backs and heads and a blue gray belt across their otherwise white chests and bellies. Both sexes have a ragged crest on their heads, looking a little like an unkempt punk hairstyle. The females have an extra rust colored belt lower on their chest, making it easy to distinguish the sexes.

A search through a couple of the birding books in the WPWA library uncovered an interesting book printed in 1958 called "1001 Questions Answered About Birds" by Allan and Helen Cruickshank. Some of the fun facts about belted kingfishers I gathered from this book are:

• Kingfishers are one of the few families of birds where the female is considered more colorful than the males.
• Their nests are built in tunnels which they excavate along the banks of rivers and lakes.
• Both the males and females take active roles in caring for the young.
• The young emerge from their eggs completely naked, with no natal down at all. They grow right into their juvenile plumage.
• Kingfishers will patrol a regular stretch along a river, protecting it from others of their species and keeping it as their own feeding grounds. This stretch may be up to a mile in length.
• When hunting for fish, the kingfisher will often hover above the water before plunging in and grabbing the fish with their beaks.
• Besides fish, kingfishers will eat crayfish, salamanders, frogs, tadpoles, mice and insects.

I am looking forward to spending the summer with these industrious, noisy birds.

Common Mergansers

... are common on the Wood River in the winter time. Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) are diving ducks with spikelike bills and saw-edged mandibles. They dive under water for extended periods of time, swiming after fish. I'll often watch them swimming serenly on the water's surface, then suddenly pop under, only to resurface at a distance from where I first saw them.

Today I spotted three of them swimming in front of my office window - a female and two males. It looked like the female was already paired with the male in front. The male in the back was probably being opportunistic, watching for a chance to steal the lady away.

Males are beautiful large sized ducks, with a kelly-green heads and white breasts and sides. The females are distinctively different, with red crested heads and grayish bodies. The pairs will be forming right about now, with breeding taking place in a month or two.

In this second photo they were starting to fly away. The water is so calm you can see their reflections as they lift off, making it look like double the number of birds.

Photos 3/17/09 by Denise Poyer

March Minkness

When your desk faces out the window onto the Wood River, you can't help but notice patterns of animal behavior. One of the interesting animals we have noticed out and about every March is the mink (Mustela vison). Today, as if right on schedule, I saw a beautiful dark brown mink running along the bank across from my window. He ran in hopping motions through the brush, then swam the short span across the outlet to Baker Brook, before hopping back onto land and heading towards the dam. It is unusual to see them out and about at 2 in the afternoon, since they are mostly nocturnal or crepuscular (out at dawn and dusk). Yet every March we have noticed one or two of them running along the river banks. Since their mating season is from late February to early April (Mammals of New England by A. J. Godin, 1977) we have surmised that they be out during the day for some extra curricular activities. And since we see them every March, it must mean that they are successful in these activities.

Mink are a member of the weasel family, about the size of a house cat though much thinner, according to Godin. Well adapted to living near wetlands, they are wonderful swimmers and skillful hunters. Godin also notes that they are ... "restless and curious, some mink are bold enough to try to steal fish caught by fisherman." While I have never heard any complaints about them from the local fisherman, I am always glad to see them in March.

Photo is from: http://suny.albany.k12.ny.us/spring2007/hudsonriver/Hudson_River_SectionA/Mink.htm