king fisher

[2vetts]

i was just drying some dishes and looking out the window when the kingfisher arrived . suddenly i realized it was watching our little pond with the comets in it rather that the big pond . i hated to do it but i scared it away . i thought last week that we were missing maybe a half dozen fish and now i see that i may be correct . a couple years ago i saw it with a bluegill that had to weigh more that the bird did . it sat in the tree with it for a while and then flew to other side of big pond . i couldn't believe it could fly with that size fish and there is no way it could have eaten it . cool bird but i expect it will dine here regularly now that it has ,apparently , started . there are about 12 ponds in this development and about a twenty acre lake behind houses across the road , i don't know why it couldn't have chosen one of them . at least the blue heron has just been flying past and not stopping although i would welcome it if it were going to eat chipmunks like it did last year . . .peace

[perplexed ponder]

Haven't seen one of those....yet. Maybe it is dining in the other ponds too. I never knew that herons would go after chipmunks! I guess anything they can stab with that dagger of a beak is fair game!

[Windwalker7]

I.d guess the fishing is better at your pond.

 Kingfishers hover above the water then dive headfirst from up in the sky down under the water to catch fish sometimes. If he got a free meal already, he will be back.

I know that the place I bought my koi had a problem with a kingfisher getting the koi they were selling. They netted everthing he finally moved on.

[Kittyzee]

I walked out onto the porch the other day (one day when it wasn't raining  ) and heard a strange noise above me.  I looked up and a kingfisher was sitting on the electric wire above my pond.  When he saw me he made that same raspy noise and moved down the road to overhead electric wires.  I promptly went out and got my net and netted my pond.  I haven't seen him since.   

Like Windwalker said, they dive head first into water and come up with fish.  He was only doing what what he was born to do, but he's going to have to do it somewhere else--not my pond.

[Indiana Karen]

We have kingfishers too.  They usually show up in the afternoon when it is raining.  It's really fascinating to watch them dive and come up with a fish, but heartbreaking and disgusting too.   

[2vetts]

just came back from jogging and heron was here . i fed fish and it looks like we are missing seven or for the year so far 17 .

[perplexed ponder]

Can you net your pond? Maybe get a floating alligator? It worked for us!