The female kingfisher laid her last egg on Tuesday 23rd April bringing the total to 7 eggs. Since then the Kingfisher pair have been taking turns brooding the eggs. During the day they take turns sitting on the eggs so that each bird has time to go fishing. Often the male bird will return to the nest entrance with a fish as a gift for the female cementing the pair bond. At Winnall you can tell when this shift change occurs as you can hear the excited whistle of kingfishers coming from near the nest. Yesterday, through my binoculars, I observed the male land on a branch near the nest hole and call to the female in the nest, she then appeared from the nest hole and flew upstream. The male sat for a moment or two before flying into the nest to resume his brooding responsibilities. One of the pair, probably the female (though it is hard to tell from the black and white infrared images), now spends the night sat in the nest keeping them warm whilst the chicks develop inside the eggs. It will take approximately 20 days for the eggs to hatch which gives us a due date of around the 12th May.
Over the last month the cameras have recorded some interesting behaviour showing how unhygienic kingfishers are in the nest!
Kingfisher regurgitating pellet
Here are a few links showing some of this behaviour:
Kingfisher regurgitating a pellet into the nest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpQEnXyL770
Kingfisher taking a poo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj4gzrAQBH8&feature=youtu.be
Lastly here is a clip of one of the Kingfishers returning to the eggs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=613Egi5IEa4&feature=youtu.be
Kingfisher returns to brood eggs
Watch this space for the latest updates on the nesting kingfishers.
Back to Nature at Winnall Moors 