{"id":15049,"date":"2012-07-04T21:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T19:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=15049"},"modified":"2019-12-22T22:27:19","modified_gmt":"2019-12-22T09:27:19","slug":"belted-kingfishers-feeding-their-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/belted-kingfishers-feeding-their-young\/","title":{"rendered":"Belted Kingfishers Feeding Their Young"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was out at Lema Ranch checking on Bluebird houses Sunday and heard the rattling commotion of the Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). I turned to see three Kingfishers flying in and around a willow tree overhanging Secluded Pond, one of the five ponds on the property. Click on photos for full sized images.<\/p>\n

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Female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Well, I’ve never seen more than two Belted Kingfishers in one place and they were chasing each other. You see, the Belted Kingfisher is a solitary bird that vigorously defends its territory, except during breeding season, which of course, this is.<\/p>\n

Diverting my attention from the (what I later discovered was an empty) Bluebird nest box, I slowly made my way toward said willow tree trying not to spook the birds. Belted Kingfishers notoriously flush easily and I really wanted to see what was going on.<\/p>\n

This is what I found. “My parents told me to stay here and be quiet.”<\/p>\n

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Juvenile Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Hidden among the willow branches was the juvenile Kingfisher. It wasn’t easy to spot, even though I saw exactly where it was from my prior location.<\/p>\n

Fledglings leave their burrow nest 27 to 29 days after hatching and stay with their parents, who feed them, for about 3 weeks.<\/p>\n

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Fledgling Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

This is the video I shot of the youngster being fed. I couldn’t tell if it was the male or female feeding the fledgling, or what it was being fed (probably a fish), but it was a pretty noisy affair.<\/p>\n

Several minutes after being fed, the adult female flew back up and perched with the fledgling where they both preened and bobbed and displayed other Belted Kingfisher behavior.<\/p>\n