Belted Kingfisher: The Bird That Tunnels & Birding Resources

 While on a walk this past weekend at Meadowlark Gardens, I heard an interesting trill or rattle sound. I looked up and felt awe-struck by a gorgeous Belted Kingfisher flying over the pond and up into a tree, right next to us. 

Photo: Mick Thompson (link)

While there are four species of Kingfisher in North America, the Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon is the only one that is seen in Virginia - so this bird is easy to identify even for the most beginner birder. However, it is not as common as some birds, so you have to be fairly lucky to see it at all. This past Sunday was my first time seeing one up close, and it is a striking bird, both in color, call and behavior. 

Listen to its call here. 

Photo: Andy Morffew (link)

Kingfishers, like most birds, are sexually dimorphic, meaning the males and females do not look alike. However, the Belted Kingfisher is unusual in that the female of the species is more colorful - they have the orange belt, while the males do not. According to All About Birds, Kingfishers are very territorial birds, and some scientists hypothesize that the orange band allows males to differentiate females from rivals, but more studies are needed. 

Photo: marneejill (link)

This bird is often seen around wetlands and water bodies, where it hunts fish by plunging headfirst into the water and grabbing fish with its beak. According to Audubon Society, this species: 

"...typically feeds on small fish, usually those less than 4-5" long. Also eats crayfish, frogs, tadpoles, aquatic insects. Occasionally takes prey away from water, including small mammals, young birds, lizards. Reported to eat berries at times."

This neat video below shows how easily a Belted Kingfisher can pluck fish out of the water. 

This species has an interesting nesting approach - they actually dig tunnels, three to six feet long (!) into the the dirt of steep, sandy banks, with the nest chamber at the end. Both male and female help dig the nest tunnel. Amazing! You can read more about this nesting behavior here. Unfortunately, this species may be declining due to habitat loss and nest disturbance during breeding season. You can help this species by supporting organizations like Audubon that work on conservation and protection of these amazing animals. I recommend you join your local chapter and go out on a bird walk or attend a free Audubon Afternoon lecture. 

My local chapter, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, has some great resources on their website:

• Videos of past online events
• This handy, printable bird checklist for Northern Virginia
• The fantastic Audubon at Home program for a free home-consult on designing your native plant landscaping (native plants are the best bird feeders)
• Free upcoming webinar (Dec 16) to prepare for the Christmas Bird Count

Some other cool resources on birding: 

• Birdability, making birding accessible to all
• Northern Virginia Birding Club 
• This podcast featuring Matt Felperin's recommendations on great spots and good binoculars (I bought mine based on his suggestion)
• Wingspan, a beautiful and scientifically accurate strategy game about birds. Below is the Belted Kingfisher card from my set. 

Happy birding everyone!

Sources:

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

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Belted_Kingfisher/overview

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/belted-kingfisher-creature-feature

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-do-female-belted-kingfishers-have-an-extra-rust-colored-belt-that-the-males-dont-have/

Have You Seen This Snake (in VA) Since 2013?

The Northern Pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) is a harmless snake we think lives in a few counties in Virginia. It's official conservation and management status is "undetermined." This past week I attended my first meeting of the Virginia Herpetological Society (VHS) a great organization dedicated to protection and conservation of herps (reptiles and amphibians). One of the presentations focused on research from Virginia Tech, led by Professor Hamed, looking for this species of snake. 

Photo credit: FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (link)

Research assistant Sam Van Noy presented on the study's methodology and outcomes so far. The study will be done over three years and has multiple components - a video capture process, regular in-person surveys, boards, and a citizen science component. Below is a poster that the team circulated to ask the public to report any sightings. Over the first year, the team identified a number of snakes, reptiles, and mammals even, but they did not yet find any evidence of a pinesnake. 

Poster available here.

The citizen science component was a bit more successful. Most of the images submitted to the research team were incorrect identifications - but there was one photograph submitted from a credible source that depicts a found Northern Pinesnake in Virginia from 2013. This was very exciting because prior to this effort, the last reported sighting was in 1989! 

According to the VHS, this snake may be living in Augusta, Bath, Botetourt or Craig County. The reason the Northern Pinesnake is so elusive is that it is a fossorial snake - meaning that it spends most of its time underground. Some fear this snake may no longer live in Virginia - as its habitat is specialized. As you may have already guessed - this snake is most often found in pine groves (which can grow in sandier soil) because it is easier for the snake to burrow in sandier soils. There is also some concern that this snake may be more likely to be killed because its defense mechanism is to hiss loudly. Some locals refer to this species as the bull snake. It can be intimidating but this is not a venomous species. 

If you want to see one close up, the Potomac Overlook Nature Center is home to a Northern Pinesnake named Al. 

You can help advance science! If you come across a black, white and cream snake in Virginia, either alive or deceased, please follow these instructions below. Remember this is a harmless snake, while it will likely hiss, it does not have venom. 

1. Try to take a photograph or video of the snake.
2. Photograph the snake’s head and/or back.
3. Please note the location, time, and date of your observation. You can provide street numbers or coordinates.
4. Please note the characteristics of the area where you found the snakes. Please note the characteristics of the area where you found the snakes including the types of trees and soil.

Then submit your photo and information to khamed@vt.edu. 

Sources:

https://pinesnake.fishwild.vt.edu/

https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/northern-pinesnake/northern_pinesnake.php

Why Do Birds Captivate Us?

One of my earliest memories is my mother bringing me to feed ducks at the park. We fed them bread and didn't know any better - I've since learned what a big problem it is. When I was 6 or 7, I spent hours devising homemade traps to capture sparrows in my backyard using a laundry basket, a stick and string. I never caught any, thankfully, but it gave me great joy to watch flocks of them visit my yard. My mother finally caved in to give me parakeets when I was 10 years old - whom I named fluffy and bluebird. 

Fast forward twelve years later, and I am still amazed and captivated by birds, and fortunately no longer trying to capture them in laundry baskets. This summer at Nature Camp I was enamored with a barn owl and a gyrfalcon. I also recently wrote about a great blue heron and its run-in with a bald eagle. 

I've gone out a few times with the Northern Virginia Birding Club, the Monday morning Huntley Meadow birding group, and Birdability. I've started to learn more bird songs through playing the eBird quiz and enjoyed many comics drawn by Bird and Moon. I've even played two different bird themed board games - Wingspan and Fly-A-Way. As I have become more involved in various organizations and efforts on wildlife conservation over the past few years, I have noticed myself repeatedly drawn to birds. 

In Costa Rica last year, I spent some time with a good friend and expert birder, and had the good fortune to spend a few lazy months watching native birds in between trips to the beach. Then back home in Massachusetts, I spent hours watching birds in the yard - the usual characters - robins, cardinals, bluejays. Then one day I saw a bird I had never seen before. A fairly large bird pulling up worms with the robins after a rain. I looked it up and identified it as a northern flicker. 

Photo credit: Pixabay User, Naturelady (link)

I had literally never in my life heard of this bird. It was amazing to me that there are still birds out there, living beside me, whom I have never seen. It seems incredible. I believe this is one of the reasons that people are captivated by birds. They are everywhere, in every environment - a constant companion - but yet there are enough species to always offer up the awe of seeing a new animal for the first time. 

Some other reasons birds captivate us:

• Birds can fly! We all wish we could fly after watching birds outside our windows soaring, gliding, and zooming through the sky. 
• Birds are intelligent. We have all seen videos of birds solving complex puzzles - it's impressive. 
• Some birds speak. Finally, an animal we can communicate with! While there is debate on how much birds understand what they say, the fact they can imitate our speech (and other sounds) makes them immensely captivating. 
• Birds are so diverse. From penguins to emus to owls to kakapos to warblers - birds have evolved into an amazing array of forms to fill ecological niches. 
• Birds mating practices remind us of ourselves. David Attenborough's films about birds of paradise and their incredible mating dances remind us of the efforts we go through as humans to attract and impress a partner. Also, some iconic birds mate for life. 

Birds also appeal to a large segment of the population - hunters enjoy shooting birds, seniors enjoy watching a serene birdfeeder on their porch, families enjoy feeding ducks (peas not bread, please), birders of all ages enjoy adding to their lifelist, everyone enjoys watching an osprey dramatically striking a fish. 

Birds are iconic and for many people they represent nature and the outdoors - and so birds make an excellent mascot when working on habitat conservation. As much as I love snakes, I know that snakes will not produce the warm and fuzzy feelings in the general public that is needed to inspire action. Like the mining canary, the wellbeing of bird species in our community is an indicator of how our ecosystems are faring overall. 

In a conversation with my ARMN classmate, Katherine Wychulis, I learned about a harmful insecticide practice that Fairfax County and Prince William County is doing that is negatively affecting bird populations. As described on the Audubon website, 

"The County sprays at a time when many species of birds are breeding, raising young and some birds, especially warblers, are migrating through Northern Virginia. Caterpillars are an important food source for many birds. The insecticide is potentially deadly not just to the targeted fall cankerworm, but to all exposed butterfly and moth caterpillars. These butterfly and moth species, like the fall cankerworm, provide food for birds, beetles, bats, frogs, spiders and other wildlife. And the insecticide, a commercial application of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk), can "drift" to other areas outside the spray areas."

While the insect they are spraying for can have some negative impact on tree foliage, the populations fluctuate greatly, and the program is not administering the chemical in accordance with population data. This is a problem. 

Caterpillars are a crucial food source for birds - especially juvenile birds. I learned recently from ARMN that a nest of three chickadees needs 9,000 caterpillars to grow to adulthood! 

If you live in Fairfax County or Prince William County, you can contact your representative to share your concern about this program. To learn more, visit the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia's page on Save the Caterpillars.

Sources:

https://www.audubonva.org/take-action/save-caterpillars

https://www.audubon.org/news/bird-iq-tests-8-ways-researchers-test-bird-intelligence

https://ebird.org/home