Helping Kingfishers (1 Viewer)

Hi! I have two kingfishers in my compound, I see them fishing at the back. I want to help them so they are tempted to stay. Should I feed them? If so, what should I give them? Is making a perch for them a good idea? I hope they will stay and nest, but there isn't really anywhere for them to nest in the area I usually see them in. The banks there are made of stone, so they can't dig a nest. Will they move to the nearby canal or look for somewhere with dirt banks in the compound?

If you can get a stone drill and [IMPORTANT!!] permission to use it on the site, you could drill an artificial nest hole in the bank. It will need to be about 1-1.2 metres long, and sloping slightly upwards (entrance hole the lowest, nest cavity the highest point). The difficult problem is to make the nest cavity at the end, so most of the tunnel is 6 cm diameter, but the nest cavity 15 cm diameter. If the far end of tunnel goes right through the stone wall to soil behind, then the birds can dig their own nest cavity. For safety from flooding, the entrance should be above the highest flood level recorded at the site.

Yes, you can also put sticks around the water edge for them to perch on. Feeding is more difficult, as they only eat small live fish - but if there is clean (unpolluted) water, they can find their own.

Yes, there's definitely enough fish for them to eat. I doubt I will be able to get permission to drill a nest site, would they perhaps nest on less steep banks or a nestbox/tree? I don't really think so though. If I put an upright stick at the water's edge to make a perch, would that maybe tempt them to stay? I think there might be an area with steep mud banks somewhere, but I'm not sure.
Also, a slightly unrelated question: Do Grey Wagtails like to nest under bridges? Because I heard somewhere that they did. Would they use a nestbox if I put it up under a bridge? I think they probably wouldn't as they are winter migrants to our area. What about Pied Wagtails?

If you put in a stick for a perch it is likely to use it, but only as one of many other natural perches; if there's nowhere for a nest burrow, it won't help it to stay to nest though. Kingfishers don't use nestboxes (or trees) for nesting, unfortunately.

Yes, Grey and White / Pied Wagtails will use nestboxes (open-front type); but presence of a box won't stop the Greys from migrating, as it's pre-programmed into their genes to go north for the summer. A good chance Pieds will use it though.