2002 Mississippi Kite season

2002 Mississippi Kite Season

This year's kites arrived back on April 15th and on May 13th, we photographed the pair below at 7:15pm. Shortly afterwards they were seen copulating. We were never able to locate the nest, as it was most probably in someone's backyard.

This page was last updated on: July 21, 2005

I saw the adult kites soaring overhead almost every day, although they tended to keep away from the area directly behind my house, over the golfcourse, as the Purple Martins saw them as a threat, and would mob them.

© Jim Jones

© Helen Baines 2002

© Jim Jones

© Jim Jones 2002

Mississippi Kites photographed by Jim Jones in the Bedford area near Dallas, Texas

A kite watcher in the Dallas area is lucky enough to have a pair of Mississippi Kites nesting in his backyard. He has sent me the following photos.

As the young kites grow bigger, they become more vocal and on Sunday, July 21st, I located the adult kite pictured left, feeding one, or possibly two large nestlings in a tree with very dense foliage. It was not possible to see a nest, or photograph the nestlings. As the young get older they usually move out into the open to make it easier for the parents to fly in and feed them. I shall keep watch on this family, as it is just down my street and there is an old pecan tree with lots of bare branches nearby.

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On to 2003 season

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Jim's photos were taken with a 22 year old Nikon F2AS camera (mostly in manual mode) with a 300 MM lens and 2X converter (which makes it a 600 mm at about F9 F-stop)

These photos were taken on July 3rd. This nestling is now (7/20) beginning to venture out of the nest to test his wings.

Jim got this photo of the fledgling and a parent on August 15th, 2002