A young Mississippi kite flexes its wings in its nest in Ross County/Jim McCormac
August 5, 2018
NATURE
Jim McCormac
The summer of 2007 brought exciting news to Ohio’s bird watchers. Birder Rick Perkins had discovered Mississippi kites frequenting a Hocking County golf course. He was there to play a round of golf, and scored an exceptional birdie.
Mississippi kites were then considered rare vagrants to Ohio, and they didn’t usually stick around. If you weren’t there when the kite appeared, you missed it.
The kites Perkins saw at the golf course did linger, and became so reliable that people could visit and expect to see the birds.
As the summer went on, it became clear that the flyweight raptors had a nest nearby. Attempts to find it were unsuccessful, but in late summer a juvenile kite appeared. The begging youngster sat atop tall snags and was stuffed with cicadas and dragonflies by its parents.
The still downy youngster was obviously raised locally — the first documented Ohio nesting on record
Our first confirmed record of a Mississippi kite dates only to 1978, when a bird was seen passing over Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus. Records increased steadily through the years, and by the 2000s birds were being reported almost every year.
As it turns out, the 2007 Hocking County kite nest was the vanguard of a small tide of kites. More nesting sites were found in Hocking County, and likely breeding reports came from Athens County. Summering birds have since appeared in southern Ohio haunts from Marietta to Portsmouth, and at least some of them must be nesting.
A few years ago, Mississippi kites turned up near Chillicothe, and they’ve been back every year since. Finally, a nest was located this summer and, a few weeks ago, one chick hatched. That’s the bird in the photo above.
I visited this nest July 26 and spent several hours photographing the birds. The juvenile was nearly adult-sized and active, often jumping about the nest and flapping its wings. By now, the youngster is out and free-flying.
Mississippi kites are elegant raptors and excellent aeronauts. Although not much smaller than a peregrine falcon (wingspan nearly 3 feet, length more than a foot), the kite weighs only 10 ounces. The comparatively hefty falcon weighs 2½ times that.
Because of their light weight, long, pointed wings and rudderlike tail, kites are extraordinary aerialists capable of embarrassing even the most skilled stunt pilot.
Although they’ll capture small birds and other vertebrates, the kites’ summertime bread and butter is large insects. It’s amazing to watch a kite wafting languidly about high in the air, seemingly sky-loafing
When it spots a dragonfly or cicada far below, the bird will suddenly drop like a meteor. Seconds later, it deftly snags the bug from the air with a lunge of its sharp talons.
Most Mississippi kites breed in the southern Great Plains and Gulf and south Atlantic states. They prefer older-growth bottomland forests. Scattered outposts occur to the north, but in recent years kites have been on a roll, nesting in many new northern areas. Breeders have been reported as far north as New Hampshire.
Why the sudden range expansion? The answer is unclear, but might relate to forest recovery. As eastern forests rebound after the extensive deforestation that occurred from the mid-1800s into the early 20th century, the kites might be reclaiming former haunts.
Come fall, Mississippi kites migrate thousands of miles southward, disappearing into the Amazonian basin of South America. Very little is known about them on the wintering grounds.
Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.