One of the the things that makes birding so enjoyable is the unpredictability of what you will see and where you see it. Behind my house is a patch of mixed hardwood and pines that is about 100 yards square. Beside the trees is a small pond and a lot of open area. A couple of weeks ago as my wife and I were sitting on our patio late in the afternoon, we saw two Mississippi Kites soaring high above the area. Later, both perched on a bare exposed limb in a tall pine at the edge of the woods. Of course I grabbed my camera and tried to get a picture, but it was a very cloudy day and they were too far away for a clear shot. Over the next two weeks it has become obvious that the patch of woods is a nesting colony for not only the original pair, but for another pair, We have seen all four birds there at the same time. They are engaging in bonding and mating behavior. I consulted the Cornell Bird web site for information about the birds and found that they do nest in colonies and they also allow year old siblings to help take care of the new brood, including incubating the eggs, brooding the chicks, and defending the nest.
The Kites are members of the Raptor family. They eat mostly insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, dragonflies, etc., and also frogs, lizards, and small birds. They feed mostly on the wing or from an exposed perch. They usually have 1-3 dull white eggs, with an incubation time of 29-35 days. The adults will aggressively attack people or animals that come too close to the nest. They dive-bomb their enemies, and I have experienced this with these birds in my own yard. The chicks, unlike other Raptors, are not aggressive with each other in the nest, and will preen each other. For full information about these beautiful and fascinating birds, see the Cornell site.
It has been a fascinating couple of weeks watching and photographing these guys, and doing it from my own patio and yard!!
They are real acrobats, soaring and diving, and twisting and turning as they capture food in midair. Their bonding and mating behavior is quite striking and I have been fortunate to capture some of this in photos. I have also managed to get pics of their defensive activity, including dive-bombing crows that were harassing one of the females. I am blessed to have their presence so close by and look forward to the new additions. In the pics below, the first 13 show bonding behavior--the first pic shows the female perched. The male arrives with a stick(nesting material) in his mouth. The following pics show the ritual bowing and submissive behavior of both as the male transfers the stick to the female. The following 8 pics show actual mating behavior. At the end of that sequence, there is a Crow harassing the female and the next 2 shots show the male dive-bombing and attacking the Crow. The rest of the pics are random shots taken over the past two weeks. I hope you enjoy the photos below!!
The Kites are members of the Raptor family. They eat mostly insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, dragonflies, etc., and also frogs, lizards, and small birds. They feed mostly on the wing or from an exposed perch. They usually have 1-3 dull white eggs, with an incubation time of 29-35 days. The adults will aggressively attack people or animals that come too close to the nest. They dive-bomb their enemies, and I have experienced this with these birds in my own yard. The chicks, unlike other Raptors, are not aggressive with each other in the nest, and will preen each other. For full information about these beautiful and fascinating birds, see the Cornell site.
It has been a fascinating couple of weeks watching and photographing these guys, and doing it from my own patio and yard!!
They are real acrobats, soaring and diving, and twisting and turning as they capture food in midair. Their bonding and mating behavior is quite striking and I have been fortunate to capture some of this in photos. I have also managed to get pics of their defensive activity, including dive-bombing crows that were harassing one of the females. I am blessed to have their presence so close by and look forward to the new additions. In the pics below, the first 13 show bonding behavior--the first pic shows the female perched. The male arrives with a stick(nesting material) in his mouth. The following pics show the ritual bowing and submissive behavior of both as the male transfers the stick to the female. The following 8 pics show actual mating behavior. At the end of that sequence, there is a Crow harassing the female and the next 2 shots show the male dive-bombing and attacking the Crow. The rest of the pics are random shots taken over the past two weeks. I hope you enjoy the photos below!!
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