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Hello
Margaret,
Some points
that may help: if by "I have noticed more sacred kingfishers than on previous
occasions" you mean by "previous occasions" since the last six months, yes that
is certainly expected as this is the time of year that they would be arriving
and setting up territories (see the graph & text in the GBS Report). If by
"previous occasions" you mean many years of prior summers, well that may
something else, like a change.
The other point is
that the calls you described are their two main characteristic calls for the
species at this time of year and near their nesting sites.
They do not carry
nesting material, as they don't build a nest, just use a hollow and probably too
early to be carrying food.
The behaviour
appears typical for the setting up territories stage and they would surely have
intentions of using that hollow. I think they would be mates rather than rivals
but it could have been all of the above.
Philip
On
my last two visits to Callum Brae - about a week apart - I have noticed more
sacred kingfishers than on previous occasions. Today I was watching them and observed
one bird (?) in particular doing a lot of calling, using a kek, kek, kek call
and a kind of a whirring sound alternately. Occasionally another bird came near, but
they didn’t appear to be at all matey, rather the opposite. It may not have always been the same
bird. I was in a really bad
position as far as the light goes and have trashed most of the photos. However, some appeared to have a lighter
breast than others.
There
were two tree hollows that the (a) bird flew to repeatedly, but I don’t know if
it was the same bird, or two birds doing the same thing a number of metres from
each other, since I had moved my position.
The bird barely entered the hollow, leaving very quickly. Since the entrance to the hollow was
somewhat obscured, I cannot be sure that the same bird or another would leave
almost straight away. But the thing
that impressed me most was the amount of activity hopping from tree to tree and
the incessant calling. I did not
see more than two birds at one time, but by the amount of noise going on, there
seemed to be more. I did not see it
carrying nesting material or food.
Could it be that it was just trying to establish its territory in the
face of other SKF in the same area?
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