One of the raptor type birds that hang around here in the summer is the Mississippi Kite. I was reminded of them when my friend, Russell Smith, called me and told me that there were some in his neighborhood. There is a nest across the street from his home, and some of the young ones come sit in his own tree. I haven’t gotten there yet in time to get photos for this blog post, so I will relate this experience that I had a couple of years ago.
Mississippi Kite
We had been to the Cedar Gap Farm bird sanctuary near Abilene. When leaving, about a quarter of a mile away I spotted a young kite sitting atop a utility pole. It was crying out, so I looked to the sky and spotted his parent, flying high above. As I watched, the adult came soaring in with a tasty morsel and fed it to the child. The adult, then left, apparently to fetch some more food so I got my cameras prepared. As it came back, I was able to get these photos. Click on any of them to see enlargements.
Mississippi Kite – juvenile
Adult Mississippi Kite feeding a juvenile.
Adult Mississippi Kite feeding juvenile
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 