duel of the kingfishers

Heavy fog this morning blotted out Pine Neck just across the creek and even after it lifted somewhat, most of Shinnecock Bay and the Dune Road barrier beach was completely invisible. Given this background, it was surprising to hear and see Royal Terns magically appearing out of and vanishing back into the mist, calling loudly all the while. But the big event was a tremendous chase between two Belted Kingfishers, in and out of the fog but mostly on our side which was relatively clear. The chases were made all the more dramatic by the typical New Year's Eve rattles given by both birds as a sort of battle cry. One of the birds was clearly a female but I believe the other was a male. Was it love or war? The female seemed to be doing most of the chasing. Bird #1 would land on a branch on our side (overlooking the mouth of the pond) and Bird #2 would dive bomb it and chase it off its perch over the creek. Bird #2 would then circle around and land again on a dead branch on our side and the action would repeat itself. My guess is that the female was protecting her fishing grounds against an intruder. Kingfishers do not seem to have nested in our vicinity in recent years but they appear in migration and can even be found in the mild winters -- as long as the water is open. Eric Salzman