Kingfishers on the move

There were at least four Belted Kingfishers on the creek this morning: one perched in the scraggly cedar on the far side of the pond, two others engaged in a chase overhead and a fourth going the opposite way and cutting up the middle of the creek. There were other sightings as well but it was too difficult to identify duplicate birds. Kingfishers are usually rather solitary birds; I would guess that their presence in some small numbers suggests migrating birds.

There were warblers in the area as well but mostly too high in the trees and too quick to move deep into the canopy to identify. One new bird that was identified was a first year male Redstart to which can be added small numbers of Yellow Warblers and Yellowthroats.

Some very anxious and persistantly chipping Cardinals and Carolina Wrens suggested the presence of a predator -- probably an owl somewhere deep in the greenery. As is often the case, I wasn't able to see it from the path and, on a hot, muggy, buggy morning, I didn't feel like bushwhacking through thorn and thicket to find it.

Eric Salzman