Re: White-tailed Kite at Lake los Carneros
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Mark Holmgren
Thanks for these photos, Barbara. A few reports of single Kites are showing up recently. This bird seems to be a juvenile--hatched weeks or months ago. Aging is done better with a dorsal view, but this bird shows no flight feather wear (suggesting all the feathers are new), no differential flight feather wear (suggesting that all the feathers emerged at the same time (this happens only early in the life of a raptor)), dusky edges to the tail feathers, and a dark iris. Hence, it's a young bird. As we know locally, Kites evict their young at the time the adults begin preparations for a second brood. Those young then wander who knows where. Individuals showing up on our turf at this time are likely young evictees from other areas rather than adults that might have bred here in the past. It's worth mentioning that Mississippi Kites are single brooded, and presumably do not need to push their first brood out and away. But, the Santa Barbara County records of Mississippi Kites occur around this time of year (late May and June). Mark Holmgren San Marcos Pass
On Sat, Jun 18, 2022 at 9:31 AM Barbara Goll <bobbie3744@...> wrote:
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