[texbirds] Re: Green Kingfisher at Palmetto State Park

  • From: David Pinkston <drpinkston@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx, "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:01:31 -0700 (PDT)

Remember also that Green Kingfishers are perhaps more sensitive that most 
species to harsh winters and historically have retreated southward after such 
climatic events.  They are also highly sensitive to stream size/depth and water 
clarity for their foraging.

Randy Pinkston
Temple, Bell County



________________________________
From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx>
To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, August 14, 2012 10:35:45 AM
Subject: [texbirds] Re: Green Kingfisher at Palmetto State Park


The Palmetto record is not noteworthy as the species has long been reported at 
the site. Comments about the distribution of this bird got me to wondering 
about 
how its status had changed. It does seem to have “spread north to the Temple” 
as 
Randy Pinkston recently documented breeding there. In the early years of the 
21st century it was documented as breeding and a small population in the 
vicinity of Lake Conroe and along Spring Creek near Jessie Jones park here on 
the Upper Texas Coast.  I was under the impression that it was on the move. 
However, when I checked Oberholser, I find that perhaps the species status has 
changed little if at all. The reference indicates a 1928 Howard County record 
(north) a 1916 Houston record, a 1935 Cove record (east) and south on the 
Guadalupe River to Dewitt County (just a bit below Palmetto) in 1905 and 
Victoria in 1928. They were always common on the upper Guadalupe River, one of 
their strongholds in Texas.
 
Considering how many more observers and reports that come to us today compared 
to these early record periods perhaps the Green Kingfisher is not expanding its 
range at all. Its population may be a bit more robust as DDT may have depressed 
the population in the 1960s and 1970s.  Dams on streams have created clear 
water 
on some eastern rivers that have not had clear water in almost 200 years and 
that may contribute to the birds reclaiming former areas as well.
 
While it is certainly a general rule that many southern species are moving 
north, it seems that the Green Kingfisher is not following the general trend, 
certainly not in the fashion of many prominent species.
 
 
Fred Collins
             (281) 357-5324
Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center 
             Cypress Top Historical Park 
Commissioner Steve Radack
Harris County Precinct 3
www.pct3.hctx.net
 
 
 
From:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of jfabertx@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 7:04 PM
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [texbirds] Green Kingfisher at Palmetto State Park
 
Friends of mine had found and photographed a green kingfisher at the Palmetto 
State Park on July 26, 2012, at 10:30 AM (the park is north of Gonzales TX).
 
Since we didn't know that you could find this kingfisher so far north of RGV 
area, I am posting this sighting to the listserve.
 
However, I'd love if someone could chime in regarding population trends of this 
species.
 
Thanks,
John Faber
Houston, TX

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