Saw something cool today...

Brownie101

Brownie101

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I got out today, and fished a local Brookie stream, and took the skunk. On the way out, I saw a bird which I recognized immediately as a Kingfisher from seeing it all the time in Bird Watching books. After extra research, I found it was a Belted kingfisher, the only kind in our state. It was the first one I have ever seen. I don't have a picture of it as it flew by pretty quickly, but I was just curious if anyone else has seen any in our state?
 
I believe there are lots of them. I see them frequently when fishing, and I'm not always as attentive to my surroundings as I ought to be. They're noisy little guys sometimes.
 
I was never interested in birds until I moved to Doylestown where I could not believe the number of different types of birds in the area. I also met a few bird watchers and gained respect for their hobby. There's another thread on the Snowy Owl that is interesting.

It makes sense that fly fishing people would be interested in bird watching.

Here's a pic of a belted kingfisher:

belted_kingfisher_1.jpg




 
have a nesting pair here by the bridge every year. and another pair or two down in the D.H.A.L.O.
 
Hey, I saw one of those on spring today, landed in a tree couldn't have been more than 20 feet away. Wondered what it was, thanks for the pic RC.
 
They are common along the streams. You often hear them before you see them.

They make a loud "rattling" sound that is distinctive. I've never heard any other bird that sounds like that.

Here's a short video. The "rattle call" starts at around 50 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwgjKCcnxI
 
Yes, they are common along trout streams. Often they will do a flyby to let you know that you are not welcome in their territory.
 
After watching the vid. the one I saw was a male. Thanks Dwight.
 
The one I saw was a male too.
 
Yep, we got one that hangs round the brook on our property.

Real cute they are. We also have three cardinals, a red tailed hawk, mourning doves, and deer.

The folks in our subdivision all have several bird feeders each so they really encourage the birds to visit - I can't wait for late spring early summer !
 
Yep - they're cool critters.

I always enjoy that chattering sound - serves to remind me that I'm around water (which is where I want to be). Here's one I painted recently:
 

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Very nice Dave.
 
Great painting.
 
Maybe I take Kingfishers for granted, but I see them often on the stream.
 
They are very common in PA all year. But it's a good bird for your lifetime list. Something else you can look for along streams, especially if there is a hatch coming off and the trout have lock jaw, winter wrens, cedar waxwings, myrtle warblers, and especially this time of the year wood ducks, and mallards.
 
I saw yesterday a female bluejay, bluebird and a redheaded woodpecker. All females. I think I will keep a list this year.
 
Another cool bird I saw last winter was a pileated woodpecker. Anyone see any of those?
 
I regularly see many of the most common birds in my back yard like blue jays, crows, cardinals. A few times I've spotted flickers...real cool.

It common to be woken up by a battle between the crows and blue jays versus a few kestrels that hang close by. What a racket!

A kestrel is a rather small bird of prey in the falcon family.

Fun stuff!
 

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The kingfishers are very cool and common on PA streams. I see many species of birds while FF. Another cool part of being in the Great Outdoors. The birds I most look for while on the stream are the swallows. Their activity can presage an increase of insect activity and hatches.
 
afishinado wrote:
A kestrel is a rather small bird of prey in the falcon family.
Fun stuff!

Love 'em!
Kestrels are a favorite of mine. I don't see a lot of them when I'm fishing, it seems, but they're all over the battlefield - saw several this morning.
Here's a recent kestrel.....
 

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