When the kingfishers returnWritten by George Ellison Belted
kingfishers are one of my favorite birds, so much so that I
wrote a poem years ago about anticipating their return to our
creek each spring titled “Kingfishers Return.” A pair fishes
along the small creek on our property during the breeding
season. In winter they move downstream to the Tuckasegee River
and Lake Fontana, although the male will make infrequent
appearances, probably to maintain control of his hunting
territory. Each March they return for good, raising a ruckus as
they fly over our cove with rattling calls that are a part of
their mating ritual. With most bird species, the male is usually
the more conspicuous. The female kingfisher is an exception,
however, having a chestnut breast band in addition to the gray
one shared by the male. Because she broods her young deep in the
ground, the female’s maternal duties don’t make her an easy
target for predators. She has no real need for the sort of
subdued protective coloration characteristic of