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

A Familiar Sight?

Does this picture look familiar? With the extended snow cover this winter many residents in the watershed have suffered severe damage to their ornamental plantings from Whitetail Deer. The snow cover has limited the available food sources that deer rely on through the winter months such as acorns and grasses. As each year passes more and more RI and CT Whitetails are discovering that your backyard provides them with great habitat. Deer are creatures of habit. When they discover a food source they like they stick to it and often “invite” their friends.
Many hunters of our state lands are growing increasingly frustrated as they drive by deer on the way to their hunting grounds, only to find many deer have moved off the state lands and into our neighborhoods. There are multitudes of ways to combat this ever growing problem. For those of you not quite ready to take up arms but are losing patience with these “pests” there is help out there. To find out how to combat deer damage on your property visit http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/deerdamg.pdf . To learn more about the overall behavior of our watershed’s Whitetail Deer go to http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/deer.pdf.
Many of us enjoy watching deer feed in our yards while sipping our morning coffee but remember; it is ILLEGAL to feed deer or any other wildlife species. Why? For starters, feeding wildlife can promote the spread of illness. How? Feeding stations, such as bird feeders, are much the same as sharing a drink with a group of friends. If one is sick, chances are the others will soon be too. Wildlife also come to rely on the food you provide. Much like a pet, who will feed them when you are away on vacation? Please help keep our wildlife wild, don’t feed the animals!

Ice Flows, A Sign Spring is Coming

Ice flowing by the WPWA headquarters at Barberville Dam is a sure sign that spring is rapidly approaching. This shot was taken as a large ice sheet made its way over the Barberville Dam this week. An impressive sight that pictures alone can’t convey. The ice originates from Frying Pan Pond just upstream of our office on the Wood River. If you’re looking for something to do outside this weekend, consider a trip to our campus to watch the ice migrate downstream.

Bald Eagle Sighting on the Wood River

A big thrill for me last week was to see my first bald eagle sighting on the Wood River. I know that others had reported seeing an eagle in this area in previous years, but I had never positively ID'd one myself.

It happened Friday morning when Danielle was givening me a ride to the WPWA campus from Hope Valley. As we drove up Arcadia Road, I saw a very large, dark bird with white head and tail flying over one of the fields. Realizing that it was not one of the usually turkey vultures we normally see in this area, I had Danielle drive down Skunk Hill Road and back down Rt. 3 until we (meaning Danielle with her eagle eye sight) spotted the bird sitting on a tree leaning over the west side of Wyoming Pond. We were able to drive up one the back roads and have a great look at the eagle, just sitting calmly watching the river. There was no doubt about it being an adult bald eagle. Of interest to me were the crows flying nearby and landing unperturbed near this very large avian predator. After allowing us to take a few pictures, the eagle spread its wings and majestically flew up river again.

When I got into the office I looked information on the ASRI website. Several people had reported recent sightings of bald eagles all over the state. Thanks to conservation measures taken to protect large bird predators, such as banning DDT, it is now not unusual for eagles to winter in areas like RI where there is plenty of open water for fishing. (Photo by Danielle Aube)

Winter Wildlife

RI’s mustelids (except perhaps skunks) are a big prize for keen-eyed naturalists, and winter is the time to spot them. This week my daughter and I were awed by a beautiful mink that dashed across the road at the Barberville dam (WPWA global headquarters) as we were driving by. A mahogany-colored mink on a backdrop of fresh new snow is an easy target to see. Winter wildlife viewing is sure a lot easier when the contrast between the animal and environment is so stark. So, my Wood River mustelid scorecard this winter is multiple otter observations and one mink. A fisher sighting (RI’s largest and orneriest mustelid) would be great, but a weasel or ermine sighting would be even better. (Photo: USFWS)