Pond Boss
Posted By: Cecil Baird1 Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/01/12 08:29 PM
Just curious if anyone knows if this is possible or have heard of this.

Earlier this spring I had a Kingfisher in the vicinity of one of my ponds. Probably dive bombing fatheads I had put in to feed the broodfish smallmouth. However since the swallows arrived it seems he's moved on. Or perhaps the swallows got thinned out by the bird and the smallmouth and he therefore moved on?

The swallows nest ever year in a 4 inch PVC pipe that is used to fill the pond. Could they have harassed the Kingfisher to leave or could it just be he or she was just passing through.

I had one one year hang around the biggest pond on the property most of the summer but there were no swallow nests down there.

BTW I have a family of crows that show up on my property several times a day and I feed them bread ends etc. I have seen them dive at a heron. However virtually no heron visits this year.
Posted By: CJBS2003 Re: Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/01/12 09:00 PM
Anything is possible, but I don't think that is why the kingfisher isn't around.
Posted By: RAH Re: Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/01/12 09:27 PM
I have lots of resident barn swallows and had a king fisher visit yesterday.
Posted By: Shorty Re: Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/01/12 11:22 PM
Originally Posted By: CJBS2003
Anything is possible, but I don't think that is why the kingfisher isn't around.


Yep, my dad's old pond always had barn swallows, tree swollows, and several belted kingfishers hanging around. One year he had three of them all summer. Your kingfisher may have just found a better place to dine or may have bit the dust. They do mostly eat small fish no more than a few inches long.
Posted By: ewest Re: Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/02/12 02:47 PM
We also have swallows and martins and KF at one of the ponds. They seem to all be active.
Posted By: Bill Cody Re: Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/02/12 02:58 PM
I have KF interacting at my pond. Swallows will pester the KF when it sits on the post for the swallow's nest. Swallows seem to ignore the KF when it perches a distance from the swallow nest.
Posted By: joe c. Re: Could swallows keep a Kingfisher away? - 07/04/12 01:29 PM
Never seen them interact have both tree and kings around around pond all the time.
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