Fortuitiously the Darter nest is about twenty meters from the Kingfisher nest so it has been easy to see what is happening. So far nothing. When I visit either Mr Darter or Mrs Darter is sitting on the nest. The other one is usually a few hundred meters down river, sitting on an overhanging tree drying off its feathers. Yesterday, I was lucky to see them both in the nest at the same time, arguing over how to place a stick. The disagreement went for about five minutes and from my human perspective on the bank, I would say Mrs Darter won. Mr Darter then spent the next hour flying down river to a fallen paperbark tree, where he would break off small branches and bring them back to a seemingly ungrateful Mrs Darter sitting in the nest.
I have noticed the heat seems to be bothering the birds as the sitting parent seems to pant heavily, something I hadn't seen before the last few days.
No sign of babies yet. With thanks to google, I have found out that eggs are incubated for 25-30 days so it may be at least another week. After hatching chicks are kept warm by continuous brooding for at least a week. Four weeks after hatching they can swim and at about seven weeks they can fly. I am really looking forward to watching this unfold.
