Winnall Moors Kingfishers Lay Eggs!

Some very exciting news this week at Winnall Moors, the female kingfisher laid her first egg on the 17th April. Since then she has laid a further 5 eggs, all of which have been laid almost exactly 24 hours apart, between 6 and 7 in the morning. The eggs are approximately 22mm long and 18mm in diameter and weigh about 4.5 grams, as they are laid at the end of a dark tunnel they need no markings for camouflage or a heavily tapered shape, as found on sea birds that nest on cliffs, to stop them from rolling out of the nest. However, it is thought that the white colour of the eggs may help the adults find the eggs in the limited light from the entrance tunnel. Most commonly Kingfishers lay 7 eggs, but they have been recorded laying as many as 10, at the time of writing there are 6 eggs in the nest.

The female has been settling on the eggs more regulalrly since yesterday however, she will not brood them (sit on them to keep them warm) until she has finished laying all the eggs so that the young hatch at a similar time giving them the same chance of survival. Recordings from the middle of the night show the eggs alone and exposed in the nest whilst a spider makes a web around them. This is not a problem as the un-brooded eggs will lay dormant waiting for the warmth of the adults to kick start their growth.

Kingfisher laying her egg.

Here is the link to the kingfisher laying her first egg:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mywX5wS9LcI

Her third egg:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0cVG5ZnCqU

And her fifth egg:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPtFUMoHDA

As far as I know only once before has a wild kingfisher has been recorded laying eggs by professional wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton James in 2012.

Whilst the kingfishers were busy along the river the volunteers cut the grass in the meadow, it was even warm enough for a Peacock Butterfly to sun itself on a molehill. The cuttings were removed to reduce the fertility of the soil and it is hoped that eventually this will encourage a greater diversity of wild flowers to grow.

Watch this space for more news on the Kingfisher family!

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Kingfisher Nesting at Winnall Moors?

Since the warmer weather over the weekend activity at the Kingfisher nest has picked up after a lull during the bitterly cold weather. Very excitingly a female kingfisher has been investigating the inside of the nest chamber in the artificial nest. At first only very occasionally visiting, however, since Saturday she has been regurgitating pellets into the nest chamber. These pellets are the bits of fish that the Kingfisher eats that it cannot digest mainly consisting of bones, similar to the pellets that birds of prey regurgitate. So why does the kingfisher do this? Unlike many birds that line their nests with soft bedding such as moss interwoven with spider webs, like a Goldcrest, or a bed of grass mixed with downy feathers, the kingfisher lines its nest with these pellets.

Kingfisher investigates nest chamber

Kingfisher inside nest chamber.

Today the volunteers watched the Kingfishers live through the cameras as they came and went from the nest site. We also rebuilt some bat boxes that needed repairing that can be put up on the reserve at Winnall.

Here are the links to the latest kingfisher footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JfjDd8N2Hg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_G2uOPOaao

And a shot of a Kingfisher and Nuthatch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqVyLOqhekU

It is still too early to say whether or not the birds will nest for certain, but the amount of activity around the nest is very promising.

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