Hi all,

The Mississippi Kites put on a heckuva show today at Hide-A-Way Hills. This Hocking County site is currently the only known, confirmed breeding locale for this charismatic raptor in Ohio, although I suspect that a few other pairs are nesting in the county and people should always be on the alert for kites. We should confirm additional nestings in coming years.

About 100 birders from all over the state converged in Hide-A-Way Hills this afternoon, and the kites did not disappoint. In fact, they were the most cooperative I have ever seen them. The juvenile, other than making brief practice flights, remained posted at the top of a dead snag, where it was regularly fed by its parents. We witnessed several dozen feedings today, all of which involved plump annual cicadas. And this show went on practically over the heads of all of the assembled birders. Scores of photos were taken.

Thanks to Elizabeth vanBalen Delphia and her husband Michael, in whose yard the kite tree was located and who first brought these birds to light, Melissa Krygier, another Hide-A-Way Hills resident who has kept tabs on the bird, and all of the community residents who graciously tolerated our invasion. In fact, many of the residents stopped by to see the kites. Thanks to all of the birders who shared their scopes and bins to let people have better looks at the kites.

I've got some cool photos of the day, and some of the guys with the big 500-600 lens are going to send along some of their best shots. I'll have a more detailed post and photos on my blog sometime tomorrow.

Jim

Jim McCormac
Columbus, Ohio
Like Nature? http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/
Like Birds? http://www.ohiobirds.org/



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