Free Nightingales in November by Mike Dilger Page B

even very occasionally five. The time-consuming matter of incubating the clutch is carried out by the female alone, and from Dave’s studies, he reckons she will only properly begin sitting with the penultimate egg. In preparation for the ‘big sit’ she will also pluck out her breast feathers to reveal the brood patch, a bare area of skin well supplied with blood vessels at the surface, making it possible to easily transfer heat to the eggs. If she has to leave theclutch for any reason before proper incubation commences then she will cover the eggs over. From the point incubation begins she will suddenly become utterly reliant on the male provisioning her with food during this period of solitary confinement.

    Only marginally behind our Tawny Owls in the laying stakes will be the Peregrines. At this stage, the male will be taking full advantage of his conjugal ‘rights’ by copulating with his mate as frequently as possible. Most female Peregrines are substantially larger than their partners, so the male needs to be careful to telegraph when he’d like to mount her, to ensure his actions are not misconstrued as aggressive. Stating his intention involves a ritualised hitching of his wings, making it look just like he’s shrugging his shoulders and can sometimes be accompanied by the male prancing around as if on tiptoe. If the female is agreeable to his overtures, she will then lean forward, and swing her tail to one side, inviting him to jump on. Resting his tarsi on her back and with his talons curled into a ball to make sure he doesn’t harm her, he will then press his tail under hers. Constantly flapping his wings to maintain balance and ensure he doesn’t slip off, the entire mating deed will often take less than ten seconds. This briefest of liaisons also tends to be conducted amid a cacophony of noise from both the birds.

    Despite moments when they’re still a touch uneasy with one another, many pairs of Kingfishers should by now be fairly established and settled for the oncoming breeding season. Once a partner has been secured, the first priority for the newly engaged couple will involve choosing the appropriate bank in which to excavate a nest. Kingfisher nests are always situated in an enlarged chamber at the end of a narrowtunnel, and unless the pair decides to refurbish an existing ‘second-hand’ nest, they will dig a fresh one. An ideal nest site should be easy to excavate, yet safe from both predators and flooding. Most sites chosen tend to be in vertical, steep or overhanging banks on the edge of the watercourse, and are often sited both at least a metre above the water and 50cm or less below the top of the bank. Crucially, the location must also be within the birds’ territory. Soft or sandy soils with few roots and stones will make the digging more straightforward.
    Excavating the tunnel and chamber is generally a shared task, but the males will do the lion’s share of the digging. The hole is initiated by the male flying at the bank with his bill extended, while his mate watches from close by. The moment a foothold has been created, the Kingfisher is able to enact an impression of a woodpecker, as he wields his bill like a pickaxe while hanging on to the bank. During the whole tunnelling process, the pair often work in shifts, with the non-digging bird on the lookout for both intruding Kingfishers and possible predators. Most of the digging tends to be carried out in the morning, and as the tunnel gets longer, the process seems to become easier. The digging bird will use its feet to push the soil behind it, and as the tunnel measures little more than 5 or 6cm across, it then has to reverse out, using its tail feathers as a mini-bulldozer to clear out the spoil. The tunnel leading to the nest chamber is usually around 45 to 90cm long and dug either on a slight incline or in horizontal fashion, and only when work starts on the actual nest chamber will the birds finally be able to turn around