Ear to the Wild: The Belted Kingfisher - Gustav’s “Mechanical Bird"

In memory of Gustav Hobel. My friend Gustav and I used to live next door to one another on Sonoma Creek. The Belted Kingfishers would fly by, calling, with that ratchety kind of sound that they have in their voice. That’s why he’d call them the “mechanical bird.” I’m recording at Tomales Bay, on the kayak… between Heart’s Desire Beach and Shallow Beach. And now, dead ahead, I’m seeing a Belted Kingfisher. My friend Gustav calls the Belted Kingfisher the “mechanical bird.” We used to live next door to one another on Sonoma Creek and the Kingfishers would fly by, calling, with that ratchety kind of sound that they have in their voice. And that’s why he called it the “mechanical bird.”   The Belted Kingfisher… Gustav’s “mechanical bird.” Thanks for lending an Ear to the Wild. I’m Jack Hines. For more information, please visit eartothewild.com.