I have had the opportunity to observe several Mississippi Kites in the last
week or so. At least two were hatch-year, juveniles, and the rest were all
adults ( no sub-adults seen). Mostly they just sat in trees or floated
about in the sky looking wonderful. A few times I got to see an adult
feeding a juvenile. Yesterday afternoon, I observed a short period of
unusual action.
I found a Juvenile sitting in a tree in a residential neighborhood. I
watched an adult flying around overhead for about 20 minutes or so. I
thought it was probably hunting for food to feed the juvenile. But, it just
kept soaring and calling a lot, which thought was unusual. Eventually it
landed in a snag a distance away from the juvenile and continued calling.
After a few minutes of this, it suddenly took off very quickly and
purposefully. A moment later, I saw a Red-tailed hawk flying in the
direction of the juvenile, with a second adult kite (which I had not seen
before) diving on it repeatedly. The kite that had just taken off began
to dive on the Red-tail as well, . Both kites were calling loudly. The
Red-tail flew nearly over me, with the two kites continuing to dive on it
and call loudly. As the Red-tail disappeared over the far treeline, with
one kite still diving on it, the other kite went back to the snag and sat,
but with no calling. A bit later, this perched adult began soaring again
and soon came back to the snag with a cicada, which it soon took to the tree
where the juvenile had been perched. By now the juvenile had flown off.
Bob Augustine noted to me that the initial soaring, sitting, and calling of
this adult was probably in reaction to the nearby Red-tail, and perhaps also
notice to it's mate, of the Red-tail's presence. The raptor interaction was
all over very quickly, but I found it both interesting and fun to watch.
--
Donald Sweig
Falls Church, Va.
