July 2006

ByErik Olson

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CHICKS!!

Update on White-tailed kites … In May we reported that the pair of white-tailed kites occupying the east nesting area on More Mesa had fledged three chicks. This eastern area on More Mesa, known as Oak Hollow, has consistently and persistently been occupied each year with breeding kites. It now appears they have fledged another brood of three, and these youngsters are already out and about flying and foraging.

At one of the other traditional nesting tree sites on western More Mesa, two chicks fledged in May. The parents of these chicks appear to have moved to central More Mesa for a possible second nesting site.

This brings the known and recorded total of white-tailed kite chicks this year to eight or possibly more.

kites
Two of the three kites hatched from a second nest on East More Mesa. Photographed, July 9, 2006. 

Similar Posts

  • June 2005

    ByErik Olson

    So far, we are aware of at least eight fledged chicks from the first broods of More Mesa’s kites. Since kites often have two clutches a year, this early count is an extremely heartening number. Last year, the total count, for the whole breeding period, for all four mated pairs, was ten. This early news…

  • February 2014

    ByErik Olson

    Second Symposium It is eleven years since the first More Mesa Symposium was held at UCSB in 2003. Because a lot has happened since that time, MMPC is planning a second symposium, to be held on 15 March 2014. We are very excited to report that Wayne Ferren has agreed to take time from his…

  • April 2004

    ByErik Olson

    Restoration Event Our first restoration session in More Mesa County Park was held on the beautiful sunny morning of March 27th. Thirteen hearty volunteers showed up to hear Stephanie Langsdorf, of Growing Solutions, teach us the basics of the area’s ecosystem, and the particulars of natives and non-natives as well. Then, pitchforks and shovels in…

  • August 2004

    ByErik Olson

    Update on Hacienda Vieja Project Developer has been asked to modify the project: At a meeting of the Planning Commission on 28 July, the Planning Commission asked some extremely pertinent and important questions concerning the Hacienda Vieja project. After more than two hours of comment and deliberation, they voted to continue discussions on the project….

  • January 2016

    ByErik Olson

    Our beautiful More Mesa looks bleak indeed! We need rain more than we have needed in almost 15 years! And, although we received a little rain exactly a year ago, the long awaited 2016 El Niño pattern shift has finally happened, to deliver rain for this season. Recent predictions based on anomalous elevated equatorial sea surface…