On one our regular walks is a small termite nest...scarcely bigger than a basketball. It is poorly situated above a walking track and on a dead tree devoid of any cover. (Sacred Kingfishers seem to be very private and skittish around humans.) The whole area is populated by ravens, rainbow lorikeets and noisy miners who are constantly at war with each other over ownership of the real estate.
As well, there is a large branch through the centre of the nest making the available space inside quite small indeed.
Around July onwards we noticed an occasional sacred kingfisher hanging about it for a few days at a time but it was always abandoned as, no doubt, a better nest site was found.
By Christmas pretty much all breeding has been done and we were surprised to see a solitary kingfisher sometimes darting into a hole (no bigger than a golfball) in the termite nest.
On the 28th January we managed to get a photo of the bird peeking out of the hole.
On the day before Valentines Day we were amazed to see the solitary parent feeding a single chick in the nest.
We were more astounded the nextday when we found the chick had left the nest and was being fed by, presumably, its mother.
All in all, it seems remarkable that a solitary parent can successfully raise a chick in a hostile environment, particularly so long after the normal breeding season has ended.
Cheers,
Antonia
WOW, Awesome photos and description.
Mum is a lovely healthy looking bird I hope the chick ends up like that too. Looks like the youn'un has had a good start.
Hi richman and RickN,
Thank you for your comments. We too are hoping both mother and chick have long, healthy lives.
I have added another photo to show how precariously the nest is situated.
We are still astonished that the mother was able to pull off this incredible feat.
Cheers and thanks,
Antonia
Hi there Antonia,
They are such beautiful photo's! To capture intimate moments like that is something really special. The kingfisher is a very colourful and beautiful bird. I hope bub has a long and healthy life - and it looks like he's off to a good start!
We don't get kingfishers in my area of Victoria. We have plenty of Kookaburra's (I believe they're related??) so perhaps that's why? Not too sure...
Thanks for sharing them
Take Care,
TrudyC
Regards
TrudyC
aka RedBrowedFinch
Wonderful series of photos, choosy!
That nest sure looks well-used.
Love mum's look in the last photo.
Hi Antonia / Peter
It's Akos, had to change my user name.
wonderful shots. Is this the nest you guys showed me in December?
Wonderful photos. Great that everything went well.
Many thanks to everyone who commented .
We are glad you have enjoyed looking at the photos.
Hi Akos. Good to hear from you. This nest is a couple of kilometres
north of the one we showed you and much, much smaller.
Thank you for the links to your youtube videos...they are fantastic.
Cheers,
Antonia
Hi Antonia, I live in the UK near Salisbury and Stonehenge and belong to an RSPB Local Group - the South Wiltshire Group. We have monthly indoor slide shows from September to May, with about 120 attending each month, and the hire of the venue (a beautiful deconsecrated church – now an Arts Centre) costs us a lot. So once each season we get a speaker who willing to do their show for free to help us stay well in the black. This coming season that speaker will be me! I'm the volunteer publicity officer for our group but am also married to our Group Leader - hence the no fee! I've done talks on Australian wildlife and the Wildlife of Wiltshire previously but this time I've decided to research and do a talk on Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Rollers - nice and colourful.
I have lots of good images from friends in the UK and Singapore and Malaysia but was searching for images of Oz Kingfishers at the nest. I came across your fantastic series of shots of the termitarium and single mum and was blown away! I've been to Oz twice and seen sacred kingfishers but never knew (until now) that a number of Ks use termitariums rather than river banks or tree holes - amazing.
Would it be possible to show copies of your images during my slide show - I'd credit you as the photographer for sure (as with all my photographer friends)? If you had copies without the text on it would be good as the images at the Art Centre are absolutely huge (as it's also used regularly as a film theatre/cinema for the local folk and so the screen is vast) and the text might be large and distracting?
This is the link to our own Local Group website if you want to check it out (I'm the website editor too). I'll be the speaker in either April 2016 or December 2015 depending on how soon I can get a well-rehearsed presentation together. http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/southwiltshire/
I hope that you would be happy to provide the images but I quite understand if you'd rather not.
Best Wishes, Sue Walker, Farley, near Salisbury.
Hello Sue
I have sent you an email via the contact us on the web site you listed. I have some images you may also wish to have a look at and use.
Thanks
Hi Sue,
You are most welcome to use the photos for educational purposes.
It would take me quite some time to retrieve the original images and send them but I am happy to do this if you prefer.
There are also some photos of eggs and chicks inside the termite nest also on Birds in Backyards entitled
Sacred Kingfisher...from egg to first flight
Magnificent series of photos, Choosypix and congratulations on the international exposure!
Samford Valley Qld.