Today's image is one I captured on a summer day this past year. I was walking back to the house through the yard and heard a bird calling from one of the trees. I saw this young Mississippi Kite sitting in the tree and calling. Guessing it was calling to be fed. I could tell it was young due to the coloring but the masked eye gave away what type of bird it was plus the sound of it's call which you can't hear. 😊
The Mississippi Kites have been back for a while now. They have been more difficult to get a photo of though it seems. I was able to capture this one flying overhead one day. They have a distinct face with black eye patches and a very distinctive whistling call. Even it you can't see them you can tell what they are when you hear the whistle. You can hear an example HERE They are called Kites due to the way they glide around on the air currents.
These birds have left the area now for warmer climates. They have been gone about a month now. This is a Mississippi Kite that I captured one day while out on a bike ride before they moved on. I love their masks, gives them character I think.
It's a double digit day! 😀 I captured an image of a juvenile Mississippi Kite in a dead tree in the ravine in back of my house. I wonder if this is the same fledgling that I saw climbing a tree earlier in the year. It would make sense. Adult kites do not have all the patterns on them, they are a more solid color grey. They are identified by the mask on their eyes.
Today's image is another of the juvenile Mississippi Kite that I got to watch climb a tree and then photograph as it sat and rested and looked for mom and dad. 😀 You can just see the mask over the eyes developing. Adults are not striped either, they are solid colors, grey and white.
I realized that I never posted the result of the juvenile Mississippi Kite climbing the tree. I took some images of it after it made it up into the tree and was sitting and resting after it's ordeal. It was pretty hot out that day so it was panting a bit as it breathed.
It's Friday, TGIF! This week has been a scorcher, in the 100s with no end in sight so far. Anyway, the Mississippi Kites are nesting in a tree in the yard again. Somehow, last weekend, their fledgling ended up on the ground and apparently couldn't take off from there so it ended up climbing up into this tree. It was interesting to see, I caught a few shots of the last part of it. I should have been taking video but never think about it. I had to share this image, partly because it's different and mostly because of the wonderful bubble bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
It's a double digit day today! 😀 The Mississippi Kites are back. They are hanging out on the wires south of where I live mostly at the moment. I was walking the one day last week due to it being wet and drizzly and I was able to capture a few shots of them. One got tired of me and flew by my and I was able to catch it as it went by. I live their dark eye masks and their unique whistling call. You can hear their calls at this site: Ebird.org The one I am referring to is at the Listen link and is the 3rd choice down.
The Mississippi Kites are fairly new to the area. They have only been around a lot the last 3 to 4 years. I discovered the other day that we have a pair nesting in one of the trees on the edge of part of our property. I was able to capture one of them, guessing the female on the nest this past weekend.
The Mississippi Kites are back. It's been neat to see them gliding around the area. There was one sitting in one of our trees a couple weeks ago and I got a lucky shot of it as it left the tree that was actually in focus. I was disappointed I clipped one wing off a bit.
We have had Mississippi Kites in our area for the last 3 summers now. Usually I get to photograph them sitting on a wire but recently, while on a bike ride I was able to capture one in a more natural setting. They are usually fairly cooperative birds for a photo which is nice.
The Mississippi Kites are back in the area. I see them gliding in the sky fairly often in the mornings recently. I captured this one while walking one day recently. It had been raining so I think that's why it's a bit frazzled looking. 😀
One day while out walking, this Mississippi Kite let me get very close to it. I only had my phone with me so it's a phone shot but it turned out OK. It was a very grey day so that part was not the phones fault. I would have rathered it was in a tree but most of the time when they are close to me, it's on a ole or wire so I'll take what I can get.
One thing this year was good for was opportunities for bird photos. I was able to capture this Mississippi Kite up close one day while on a walk. It was sitting above me on this wire and didn't seem very concerned with me at all and let me take several photos. I like this side view because it shows off the eye masking fairly well.
I was able to get a fairly decent shot of a Mississippi Kite in flight not that long ago so I thought I would share it. These birds have only been in this area fairly regularly for the past couple of years. Making their way west is search of places to live I guess. I think they are neat looking birds with their mask around the eyes. They glide a lot on the wind as well, more than some other birds of prey.
For the last couple of years we have had Mississippi Kites in our area. They must have extended their area in search of food. The one pair that lives here seems rather tolerant of me and my camera taking photos of it as well. It sat above me on this wire and looked at me for a moment and then basically ignored me. I was happy to get the capture of it looking at me and you can see the red color of it's eye.
