I went to Kings Park (intersection of Thames and Victoria) this about seven
AM. The air was clear and the lighting was good. I immediately saw a bird
about the size of a kite and raced to get my camera in position. This one
turned out to be a nice cooper's hawk, mildly disappointing. Within 15
minutes or so, a kite flew in to the top of the tall trees to the north of
the intersection. It stayed there for 15-20 minutes before flying out to
find some food. It returned about 10 minutes later and perched again at the
top of one of the tallest trees.
There were half a dozen walkers out and about and most came over to see what
I was looking at. They enjoyed seeing the kite through the camera lens. I
started to leave about 9:15 having seen only one kite. At that time,
several more kites appeared above, totaling four or five. They were soaring
above the intersection and I don't believe any landed where I could see.
Three seemed to hang together and one loner. I took some aerial photos and
noticed later that several showed the kite eating an insect that he had
caught. I left about 9:45.
My first trip to Kings Park a few days ago was to the park itself and of
course, I saw no kites. Thanks to David Bridge for directions and to Donald
Sweig for his excellent description of his visit.
A link to photos from today is at:
http://bill3sarah.smugmug.com/Birds/Missippi-Kite/13083910_8FPE4#948221117_x
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