Category: White-tailed Kite

Babies, Babies, Babies

East:
In spite of the very high, and continuous, winds we have been experiencing over the past weeks and months, More Mesa’s eastern kite pair have already hatched, and fledged, three chicks!  A sightings report, filed through our web site, has confirmed that there are, indeed, three juveniles …  already out of the nest and “perching, begging, and practicing both flying and landing”. And, with an early fledging such as this one, there is a good possibility for a second clutch this summer.

This is really great news, as we are fairly sure that there were no young at the east nest site in 2011; the first time this had occurred in decades. (The lack of chicks at east could have been attributed to the abundant rainfall and high winds that we experienced last spring.)

West:
And … the Audubon Kite Watch Team, a group that has been monitoring kites throughout the Goleta Valley, reported that there are chicks at the west nest as well!!

Two of the three fledglings on the east side of More Mesa.

Although March is “coming in like a lion”, there are already many signs of spring out on More Mesa.  Grasses are green (and high), wildflowers are starting to make appearances and our special raptors are courting and nest building.  The east kite pair is especially busy.

Kite watchers may be interested in a story from 2004, when Lynn Watson was fortunate enough to observe a White-tailed Kite pair on Vieja Drive – from nest-building, chick fledging to eventual foraging by the family on More Mesa. This photo-illustrated, most special of kite tales, is now available on this web site at Vieja Drive White-tailed Kites, 2004 or click on the image below.

Story Summary

It’s Quadruplets!
Last month we reported the presence of Northern Harrier Hawks on More Mesa … in summer … a most unusual occurrence.  And since early spring, we have also noticed some very atypical kite behavior.  That is, the historical “east” site, with its perching, hunting and nesting areas, has been nearly devoid of kites.  This was very puzzling, as the year-round use of “east” has been documented consistently for many decades.  And, while mating behavior had been observed in late spring at a central location, no confirmation of any fledglings had been reported.

However, we are elated to announce that four chicks have fledged from a nest historical “west” kite site! Given the unusual weather conditions this summer (low temperatures, high winds and extensive fog), it may be that kite hatchings have been delayed this year. (To read more about kite nesting and care of fledgling, please go here.)

Sightings Reports
The fledglings reported above were sighted by several different MMPC supporters; birding enthusiasts who regularly file reports that constitute the large (albeit informal) data base we have amassed on the birds of More Mesa over these past ten years. Of late, we are doubly fortunate, since most of these great reports are being accompanied by photographic documentation.

Because we wanted to share these images with all our supporters, and share them in a timely fashion, we have set up a Flickr account to host images from sightings reports, from now on.  You may access this information here or by clicking on the image below. We would also like to remind everyone that any observer can effortlessly file a sightings report by going to the home page of this web site, and clicking on the button labeled “Birds, Animals and Rare Plant Sightings”.

Finally, many thanks to all of you who go out on More Mesa to observe its bird life, and then take the time to file reports.  This documentation adds immeasurably to both our scientific data base, and our enjoyment of the bird treasures in this wonderful area.