Saturday 5 September 2015

August River Rea Kingfisher Pair

So after finding the River Rea, Kingfisher pair, further along the river, I was pleased to find nest number two. However the surrounding area did not have the cover provided at nest one, so it was very difficult to get any photos. I tried to hide using trees as cover but they could always see me. The female was more sensitive than the male and would fly off at any movement. So I kept my sightings to a minimum not to disturb them. It was best to view them from a distance and watch them go in and out of the nest, feeding the young.This went on for a few weeks until I was lucky once again to see the fledglings. I think I only saw two, difficult to tell from a distance. I saw one flying off with what I assume was the mother to get some feeding training. Then the next day I saw the male chasing them off. He might have had a couple chases as he was up and down and very loud. I saw them chasing, head to toe with the eerie, repetitive call of the chase. Then when the juveniles were gone, the couple remained and I was hopeful they would make a third nest along the same stretch. At first this seemed possible and I think one day I saw them nest to a potential nest site. But after a couple weeks the female seemed to disappear only to leave the male patrolling up and down. There were no more two tone calls from the pair (the pair on the Cole were still together and calling) and it was quiet.