Sunday, September 22, 2019

You Call, but You Never Show [Desperately Seeking the Ringed Kingfisher]

The river is such a tranquil place, 
a place to sit and think of romance and the beauty of nature, 
to enjoy the elegance of swans 
and the chance of a glimpse of a kingfisher.
~ Jane Wilson-Howarth, Snowfed Waters


Friday:

I timed my drive to the ponds. You know which ponds - the ones where the wild birds are.

People have reported seeing a Ringed Kingfisher* every few days for a month or so.

I have heard it call - three times now.** But for one reason or another I have not seen the bird. 

So once again I geared up and headed down the little road. I stopped to take a few photos that will frustrate. The ponds are drying up a bit and the birds are (mostly) too far for my camera. I began to hear the call of a Red-shouldered Hawk. It wasn't flying, but perched somewhere among the foliage. I never saw it.

Upon drawing-up between the two tanks - the turtle pond and the tank on the inside of the turn - I began to hear the metallic rattle that is the call of the Ringed Kingfisher. I continued slowly, eyes-peeled, excitement rising...only to see a large bird fly across the road towards the large pond to the south. This is the "impenetrable" pond. It is surrounded by brush/trees and almost impossible to see. It was bound to be the kingfisher moving on to another pond.

I continued down the road, almost to the end. Then I heard a different call that I knew well. It was the Pileated Woodpecker. Almost before the call stopped I saw the bird fly across the road and into a stand of willow trees bordering the pond where I had watched Black-bellied Whistling Ducks raise a brood three years ago. I tried to find the woodpecker, but the foliage was too thick.

As I drove away the kingfisher continued to call its rattling cry from the south pond and two Red-shouldered hawks called.

Some days it has to be enough to be out in the wild, hear birds calling, and simply know you are out there together.

Saturday:

I started later than I had planned. One of the local birders was stopped. He said they had seen a few Belted Kingfishers, the Ringed Kingfisher, and the Vermilion Flycatcher. Of course they did. I guess I was too late for most of the birds, but I would drive down to the end of the road anyway and I would later see some of the photos taken that day - amazing.***

The birder, SS (the elder) and I talked about things we'd seen at the ponds, other birders, cameras and equipment and where we report observations (he's an e-Bird while I mostly iNat).

I did see the Belted Kingfishers. They were fussing and moving around a good bit. I'm not even sure what other photos I took - probably egrets and herons - but there was no Ringed Kingfisher for me on this day and I started writing this post. I was going to have to be patient.

Sunday:

Today I was meeting OC for breakfast and a movie. Leaving the house early I hit the bank and the gas station and debated a trip to the ponds before the 35 minute drive. I calculated that I had exactly 10 minutes to look for birds.

A big part of the decision-making was what I call my "rule of observation." The best/most exotic/sought after creature will appear on the day when the batteries die, the memory card is left at home, I'm running out of gas, and/or there is no time to look. So, with 10 minutes to look, fate was screaming that the kingfisher would be there and maybe, just maybe, waiting.

I saw few birds in the first couple of ponds. Then I noticed another birder and slowed down so I would not blow-by and frighten whatever he was looking at. He walked towards my car, motioned to a large bird, and indicated it was a juvenile Bald Eagle.

Look at those feet!
It's that beak!
I told him I would take a shot or two and move along to get out of his way.

I headed down the road and saw the Belted Kingfishers once again. They sat on the utility line and looked at each other. Calm for a moment, they started fretting and fussing.

Belted Kingfishers
Here you can see one fussing at the other.

Continuing on down the road I looked up to see a long line of Cave Swallows on another utility line and, a little further, the Ringed Kingfisher. I slowed and angled the car to take some shots half-hanging out of the window. I did not want to lose the bird trying for a closer shot (bird-in-the-hand).  Only then did I feel comfortable closing ground for a couple more shots before turning around (quite short of the bird) as I knew the other birder might want to see it as well. [I've just seen his photos - amazing.]



Ringed Kingfisher 

As our vehicles were about to pass by I let him know where the three kingfishers were. He shared that the flycatcher was back. And I discovered he was SS (the younger), the son of the birder from Friday.

I got to take a look at my photos (posted here) this afternoon. They certainly tell the story -- and they are good enough for me this time. But perhaps most surprisingly, they were all taken within six minutes. Maybe I should have called this post "Six Minutes at the Ponds." Whatever. It was an amazing six minutes.

NOTES:

* https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ringed-kingfisher

** See above or just trust me. It is a "metallic" clacking. Once you have heard it (and I have) you cannot forget it.

*** I would also discover that the younger SS is married to one of the young women who was in my scout troop about 25 years ago. I'm feeling old.
 

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