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Western Belted Kingfisher Breeding in San Diego County, California

N. K. Carpenter

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It is not an uncommon occurrence to meet with an occasional Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon caurina) near some river, slough or lake in this county; but not until this year have I succeeded in locating a nest. This was quite accidental.

On the 20th of April, 1916, while driving along a road bordering a lagoon near Oceanside my curiosity was aroused by noting some dirt bluffs which formed the walls of a steep narrow canyon. It at once suggested to me an ideal home for a Duck Hawk. Without waiting to debate the question with myself I at once tied the horse and made my way to the canyon. A few shots I knew would bring forth the falcons if present. Imagine my surprise, however, as the echo from the report died away to hear the cackling screeches of a Kingfisher. In a few moments it was joined by its mate coming in from the lagoon.

I dropped behind a bunch of brush and in a few moments one of the birds flew directly to a small hole in the bluff and disappeared, while the mate returned to the lagoon.

The nesting cavity proved to be ten feet below the top of the bank and twenty feet from the bottom. I soon secured a pick and shovel from a ranch a few miles distant and started what proved to be a real task. Two hours of hard digging and a warm sun on my back helped me to decide that it was too early anyway for a full set, so I left it for a couple of weeks.

On May 6 I returned resolved to reach the nest. After four hours of manual labor I at last reached the soft stratum of sand in which the nest cavity was located. I had dug my pit so that it would be to one side of the nest chamber, for by so doing I hoped to reach the nest from the side, but I had not calculated on a winding tunnel and when about a foot above the entrance my pick broke into the extreme end of the passage. I cleaned away the loose sand and soon exposed a nest full of young fully feathered and nearly ready to leave for the lagoon. There were six in all. They were very quiet and made no remonstrance when removed from the nest and examined. They were all returned to their underground passage which was carefully closed with a resolve that if I ever found another Kingfishers’ nest in San Diego County I would not wait until May before investigating.

Escondido, California

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