Maggie's Farm

All summer we see and hear the sturdy Belted Kingfishers rattling up and down the stream with their dipping flight pattern, hunting for minnows and small water critters. During migration, I have seen them around salt water inlets too, but I think they prefer freshwater streams.

I have no idea where they have dug their nest: they dig nest holes in banks, and are highly territorial.

Our Belted Kingfisher is found across the US and Canada, and there are a number of species of Kingfishers found around the globe.

Another bank-nester is the drab Bank Swallow, which nests in colonies near water. I have only seen a couple of Bank Swallow colonies in New England - one of them had about a hundred nests - and they are very local in distribution, unlike the Kingfisher. Apparently man has expanded their distribution because road-cuts provide good cliffs for their nest holes.

Photo: A female Kingfisher. The males don't have the red band.