I was surprised this afternoon in Norwich first to hear and then to  
see a male Belted Kingfisher perched on a branch by a small stream on  
the south side of Elm Street to the east of Hopson Road. That small  
stream and its associated ponds drain into Blood Brook to the east.  
Water was flowing free of ice in parts of that stream today, after  
some hours of rain and with air temperatures during daylight hours  
well above freezing.

Readers of UV-Birders may recall Peg's recent kingfisher record of  
December 24 from Lyme.

Presumably kingfishers must be able to find open water in order to  
survive in winter in the Upper Valley.

For most of the past week temperatures have been below freezing and  
most bodies of water around here have been ice-covered, including  
ponds and the Connecticut River upstream from the Wilder Dam to Pompy  
and beyond. As far as I am aware, the nearest large body of water not  
ice-covered during the past week has been the Connecticut River  
downstream from the Wilder Dam. The Wilder Dam is a little less than 3  
airline miles away from this afternoon's sighting, and it seems  
conceivable that today's bird might have come out from the area below  
Wilder Dam.

George

George Clark
Norwich, VT

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