Bird Forecast
What to watch for in September: Belted Kingfishers

Compiled by Jane Tillman, Travis Audubon Volunteer for KXAN

Migration continues during September, with many birds passing through sight unseen. Others may be a little more obliging, and dedicated bird watchers are keeping an eye out for both expected and unexpected species. Lots of information can be found in the giant citizen-science database called eBird, powered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In it you can explore bar charts that show the ebb and flow of species in regions, with the county level being especially useful for local bird watchers. Ducks like Blue-winged Teal, a very early fall migrant en route to Central and South America, started arriving in August and will continue in September. Migrating Chimney Swifts may occupy communal roost sites temporarily as they build up strength and fat to power their journey to South America. Several swallow species are often hard to spot as they stream high overhead. September is a good month to spot a bright orange and black male Baltimore Oriole or tiny Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Peak fall migration for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds occurs in September. Many are heading to the coast before they make the jump across the Gulf to Mexico and Central America. If you want to see lots of them, visit the Hummerbird Celebration in Rockport-Fulton the third weekend this month.

September is a good time to keep an eye and ear out for a charismatic Belted Kingfisher. It has a slate-blue back and head, heavy bill and white collar. It’s well-named as it has a belt of color across its white breast and it fishes. The adult male is the less colorful of the two – it has a single slate-blue breast band, while the adult female has a mostly slate-blue breast band with a rusty-colored one just below it. Juvenile birds have a single dark breast band with some rusty tinges and have some rusty marks on their flanks.

These big-headed kingfishers like to perch over water, where they watch intently for small fish, their favorite food. They may hover before plunge diving to catch them. Usually they do not totally submerge as their prey swims at a depth of less than two feet. Returning to the perch, the kingfishers whack the prey back and forth to stun it and to position it so it can be swallowed head first.
Belted Kingfisher Male
COURTESY: Jeff Osborne

While a few Belted Kingfishers breed in central Texas, they are not frequently seen in the summer months. Where do they spend the summer? Belted Kingfishers can be found all over North America. In the non-breeding season they leave Alaska and Canada (except coastal British Columbia) where food availability is limited by the lack of open water. Males don’t seem to migrate as far as females, perhaps so they have less distance to travel in spring when they want to claim territories. The uptick we see beginning this month is due to migrants coming through, on their way to Mexico and Central America, plus birds that will winter here. From September through early April they are much more abundant in our area.

Belted Kingfishers like clear streams and rivers, particularly ones with riffles, but also use wooded ponds and lakes with quiet coves. They avoid lake edges with emergent vegetation like cattails, and abandon murky water after rains, since they are visual feeders. Perches include branches, wires, signs and dock pilings; basically anywhere that gives them a good view of the water. Besides fish their diet includes crayfish, insects, amphibians, reptiles, small birds and mammals, and even berries on occasion.

These birds are generally solitary except during breeding season, so we don’t usually see paired birds here. They do defend winter territories with a distinctive loud rattle call. They seem to fly off the handle at the slightest disturbance, and chase other birds away. Often you will hear kingfishers before you see them so get familiar with the call. They can be found fairly reliably below Longhorn Dam in Roy Guerrero Park, at wooded ponds in Camp Mabry, and along the Colorado River at Hornsby Bend Wastewater Treatment Plant.

One interesting fact about Belted Kingfishers is that they dig burrows for nesting. Their preference for nest sites is near-vertical sandy clay banks close to their fishing territory. These nesting sites are in short supply and generally predict both the location of breeding birds and their local abundance. Both the male and female excavate a burrow at least three feet in length. It’s usually close to the top of an unvegetated bank to discourage ground predators like snakes and to avoid flooding. Eggs are laid at the back of the tunnel. As the nestlings grow, they void their excrement and cover it with a layer of dirt excavated from the burrow’s walls, which enlarges the nest cavity. The adults make many trips throughout the day, trampling down the new dirt. Observations have shown nestlings each need eight to eleven four-inch fish per day from day 5 to day 28 of the nestling period – that’s a lot of trips.ield trips are usually free.

Want to see Chimney Swifts go to roost? Sept. 13 is Swift Night Out. There are several fee-based classes starting in September: raptor ID, another on shorebird ID, a photography basics and an intro to bird photography.

Resources: All about Birds, Birds of the World, The Sibley Guide to Birds, The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds, 2^nd. Ed. and The Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds.