Mississippi Kite in Los Angeles 2007
Veteran bird expert and Secretary of the California Bird Records Committee, Guy McCaskie, graciously supplied me with this information on past sightings of a Mississippi Kite in California ---
"There are 38 previous CBRC endorsed records for the Mississippi Kite in California, with most (24) in spring between 17 May and 21 June. However, most (20) of these records are for locations in Mojave Desert and Great Basin portions of eastern California, with thirteen of them at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley. Previous spring records for the coast are of single birds in Goleta SBA 18 Jun 1933, Long Beach LA 21 Jun 1982, Huntington Beach ORA 05-11 Jun 1989, and Clairemont LA 26 May 2003. Two of the five fall records from along the coast were on the Palos Verdes Peninsula - 26 Sep 1992 and 18 Sep 2005 - clearly a popular place for lost Mississippi Kites."
UPDATE Friday June 1 2007 -- It's been 6 days since I first spotted the Mississippi Kite at the Garden, and the good news is that it's still there! I spotted it flying near the lake and though it was flying high could make out that it was catching insects and feeding while "on the wing," sometimes grasping its meal in its talons then reaching down and munching on it while flying all the while. I ran into David Ellsworth, an avid birder also from San Pedro, who was capturing the action with a 20x-zoom video camera. And Pedra Furmall, an employee at the Garden, said the Kite's favorite tree for perching is a "She-Oak," native to Australia but also found in the southeastern US (thanks for the ID, Pedra! :o) ) So perhaps the Kite, who could possibly have been blown from its home back East by a strong wind, feels right "at home" with that tree...
The South Coast Botanic Garden put up its own page of info and background on the Mississippi Kite, with photos taken by Pedra Furmall using a Nikon D50 and Tamron lens -- http://www.southcoastbotanicgarden.org/birderspage.html
And on Friday there was a writeup on the Kite in the local newspaper, The Daily Breeze -- http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7779916.html
UPDATE Tuesday June 5 2007 -- I just received word from Ken Hamada, one of my friends who had watched the Kite with me for 9 hours on Sunday, that he had spent the better part of Monday afternoon at the Garden but saw no sign of the Kite. He checked its favorite She-Oak tree and its usual perch, and scanned the skies in the afternoon for its customary eating-on-the-fly acrobatics; nothing. Highly-unusual as this Kite has a "clockwork regularity" to it. This would make it the first time since I first spotted it on May 26 that it hasn't been seen. Only time will tell whether or not it's "flown the coop,"...
UPDATE June 8, 2007 --- Apparently the bird has flown. There has been no sighting of it for the past 3 days. I sure am gonna miss Little Miss... :o(
Here it is when it was about 40 feet directly above me. My Sibley's guide says the "Mississippi" has a "short outermost primary," and that can easily be seen here (i.e., the shortest wing tip). And this is a good pic to see the flared "checkerboard" tail pattern. The tail on a White-tailed Kite is, well, white...
Here's a closeup of the perched Kite. As far as I know, the concensus is still out as to whether it's a female or male. As I've noticed with Red-tails, it's really hard to differentiate between the two sexes unless one sees them side-by-side; for the Red-tails the female is about 1/3 larger than the male --- and its feet are bigger, too, possibly having something to do with being the main food provider and protector of the nest.
This Kite is nothing if not consistent...2 days after the 1st sighting the Kite was spotted in exactly the same She-Oak tree as I saw it in on Saturday. It doesn't seem to be too bothered by human behavior; I heard that a bulldozer was working nearby and the Kite just continued about its business. Guess you can say it's "unflappable"... :o)
The Kite catches insects "on-the-wing" so is in the air most of the time. It puts on quite an aerial show, doing steep dives, twists, and the occasional flip as it follows its small victims. One of the reasons that it might have decided to stop over at the South Coast Garden is because of the numerous bugs in the air there attracted by the wide variety of flowers and plants.
The dexterity of the Kite is something to see...This photo shows it actually eating in flight! Very little flight time is wasted with this raptor...
A good shot to show its underwing markings and tail at full-spread...
Meanwhile, back at the perch...By this time the Kite has attracted a small crowd of admirers, mostly birders who've heard of its presence through the birding "grapevine." On this particular occasion it stayed on this tree branch for about 30 minutes.
Here it is once again in search of the seemingly-endless quest for food...
And a shot showing the Kite in all its beauty.
Back to the Garden on Saturday, June 2, the 8th day since I first saw the Mississippi Kite. It has since acquired Celebrity Status, even getting an article written about it in the local paper on Thursday entitled "A Rare Bird Call" -- http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7779916.html . It however seems unruffled by fame...
The morning is overcast but in the She-Oak tree with a green background its beauty still shows. It still perches in the same tree and nearly always on the same branch. It makes occasional forays when it sees a potential snack and its success ratio appears to be 100%. However, this morning it brings its food back to the tree and eats it there, not in the air.
On Sunday June 3 I am joined by friends Ken Tyler and Ken Hamada, fellow photographers eager to record this Bird Event. We arrive at 8am and as usual the Kite is on the same perch in the same tree. There's a heavy overcast once again and the Kite doesn't fly as often as it usually does in the morning, being content to make the occasional quick flight then bring its food back to a tree branch. Most of the morning is spent preening, stretching, fanning its tail feathers, and observing its surroundings. In other words, it's a Relax Day for the Kite...
Here's the Kite after a successful quick trip off its perch to get a bug.
It certainly isn't shy about publicizing its eating habits, but I doubt that it knew these scenes would be viewed around the world... :o)
On Sunday June 3 we hear the call of the Mississippi Kite for the first time, and again later that day. To hear the Kite, go to this Webpage --- http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/27/overview/Mississippi_Kite.aspx It was quite thrilling to witness, particularly as it has been heard in these parts only 6 times in recorded history...
The Kite once again feasting on an insect tidbit.
The Kite's favorite tree is facing the morning sun (obscured lately by clouds, but still bright) so it's tricky to photograph. Wonder if it's open to moving to an easier-to-photograph morning site? :o)
With all the attention on the Kite, the resident raptors are saying "What about US?" We came across the Garden's Red-Shouldered Hawk; notice the band on its right leg...
But all eyes are on "Young Miss".
Just to show that 8 hours of Kite-watching isn't totally serious, here's my friend Ken Tyler comparing his equipment to Ken Hamada's while Ken's back is turned (for those camera buffs out there, that's a Canon 100-400 and Nikon 600mm Prime).
Here's a closeup of Ken's Nikon DSLR kit with his honker of a lens. He actually carried this on a tripod for nearly a mile (and back, of course) to the Kite perch! PLUS toting his other Nikon mounted on a Bush Hawk, a stabilizing device shaped somewhat like a rifle stock. It provides easier tracking of birds-in-flight; I myself just bought one today (June 4) as an aid in "BIF" captures.
Here are the "Two Kens", aka "Xtra-dry" and "Rusty", viewing the Kite at a temporary perch. Ken, techno-geek that he is, attempts to get a POTD-worthy capture of the Kite with his 2MP cell phone/camera. NOT! :o)
Here's the Kite on the temporary perch Ken was "attempting" to photograph with his cell phone. It had just slipped off the branch and was trying to recover its "footing," providing a nice view of its upper wing coloring.
As I mentioned, Sunday June 3 was overcast for the most part, but cleared-up somewhat as we were leaving (don't it figure?) While walking out, the Kite flew into view and we finally were able to get some closeup flight shots with our backs to the sun.
Here's a shot of the Kite eating in-flight, an amazing scene of dexterity...
The Kite is about to go into one of its thrilling "dives"...
The sunlight gives the underwing coloring a new shade, with the alien-like head and tail highlighted splendidly...
And here it is, eating on-the-wing, having grasped an insect in its talons...Amazing. The Two Kens and I were at the Garden for over 8 hours and it flew by like 2...
