White-tailed Kite

 The white-tailed kite is a medium sized raptor that is found along the west coast of the United States, southern Florida, Mexico, Central and South America. They were at one time, grouped together with the European black-winged kite as a single species called the black-shouldered kite. However because of differences in size and behavior the species was divided into the white-tailed kite, in the Americas, The black-winged kite, in Europe and Africa, and the black-shouldered kite, in Australia.

The first white-tailed kites that we spotted, and photographed, where at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve near Monterey Bay in California. White-tailed kites were almost extricated from California by 1940 due to hunting and egg collecting. Preservation laws, like the Migratory Bird Act, gave protection to native species of birds and their eggs. This includes the white-tailed kite which, I am happy to say, are now common again in many parts of California. These first two pictures where taken in southern Texas where white-tailed kites can also be found.  

Their preferred habitat is open country, such as grass savannas, marshes, desert grasslands and farm fields, where they hunt primarily small rodents. In 2012 while I was out photographing at Crex Meadows in Wisconsin I was surprised to spot a perched white-tailed kite. Now Crex meadows is perfect habitat for white-tailed kites, however it is way out of their normal range. This was only the third time on record that a white-tailed kite had been observed in Wisconsin. Now the winter of 2011 -2012 was unseasonably warm and lacking in snow which might explain why this bird was in Wisconsin. The have been known to venture far from their range and have been spotted as far away as New England. It was still exciting though and people came from all around to get a glimpse, especially since the last sighting in Wisconsin was over 10 years before.

White-tailed Kite

Wisconsin White-tailed Kite

 So today the weather was nice so I decided to take a half of a day off and head up to Crex Meadows in Wisconsin. Since it is mid August things were a bit slow. Except for a few warblers that I was able to pish out I was mostly just shooting butterflies. That was until I turned on to Murphys Road. As I began to drive down the road a large white bird flushed from a tree on the right side of the road. It flew north and landed in a tree on the opposite side of the road.

 My first thought was that it was a kite but since kites are very rare in this part of the country I figured that I just did not get a very good look at it. I knew that it was not an osprey but I thought that maybe it was a male northern harrier, which are light gray with black wingtips and white underside to their wings. So I slowly moved down the road, angling the car so that I could shoot out of the open passenger window. This time I recognized that the bird was indeed a white-tailed kite.

This is not the first time that I have photographed white-tailed kites, I have photographed them in California and Texas, but I had never heard of anyone spotting any in Minnesota or Wisconsin. This last photo was taken in Texas in 2010 and I included it so that you can see the field marking for these birds. When I got home I checked with the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology and found that there are only three records of white-tailed kites spotted in Wisconsin. The last record was back in September of 1989. So even though a few have been spotted over the years it has been over 20 years since anyone has reported one.

Kite

The white-tailed kite is a raptor that is found in North, Central, and South America. It was once grouped in with the black-winged kite that is found in Europe and Africa and called the black-shouldered kite. However it was determined that there was enough difference between the white-tailed kite and the black-winged kite and so they were split into two different species.
In North America the white-tailed kite is found in parts of Oregon, California, South Texas and South Florida, these photos where taken in south Texas. Although from time to time the populations in some of these regions fluctuate it is unknown whether or not these birds migrate or not. They are usually seen near open fields where they hunt primarily rodents.

To Fly

Have you ever wondered how birds fly? This is a subject that has fascinated mankind for ages. In many ancient cultures they viewed a birds ability to fly as something magical or associated it with the supernatural. The truth is that through many many centuries birds have evolved several adaptations which have assist in their ability to fly.
In order to fly birds need to be light weight. Instead of having heavy bones and teeth like we do most birds have hollow bones and a light weight beak. They also have a much more efficient cardiovascular system then we do. Their lungs process oxygen more quickly efficiently and their heart beats much faster. This is necessary because it takes a lot of energy to fly.
Perhaps the coolest adaptation for flight though are their feathers. Birds have between 1,000 to 25,000 feather. Feathers are made of a substance called keratin. Even though they are strong and durable they are also very light. The spine of the feather is called a shaft. The shaft runs the length of the feather and it is hollow inside. Connected to the shaft are branches called barbs. The barbs connect to each other giving the feather a solid appearance however there is space between them which helps to keep the feather light. Each bird has several different type of feathers each serving a different purpose. It is important for the bird to keep their feathers in good shape so they spend a significant part of each day preening. Once or twice a year, depending on the type of bird, they will lose their feathers and new replacements will grow in. This is called molting. Most birds only molt a couple of feathers at a time so that they can continue to fly while their feathers are being replaced. However some waterfowl molt all their feathers at once leaving them flightless for a week or two.

White-tailed Kite

We do not typically see very many members of the kite family here in Minnesota except for the northern harrier or an occasional migrant. That is why I was very excited to have the opportunity to photograph white-tailed kites at the Elk Horn Slough in California Monterey area back in 2007.

The white-tailed kite is typically found in open areas such as fields, marshes or savannas. Their range includes the west and gulf coast areas in the US as well as Mexico, Central America and parts of eastern South America. The prey that they eat and the way that they hunt is similar to the smaller American kestrel. Their prey includes rodents, small birds, reptiles and amphibians which it catches by ambushing them from flight.