NESTING MISSISSIPPI KITES, 
  GREEN SPRING PARK AREA 2020

Again in 2020, a pair of Mississippi Kites ( Ictinia mississippiensis) nested in a residential yard near Green Spring Park in Fairfax, County, Va.  I managed, with permission from the property owners, to observe and get some photo images of the nesting activity, although I was there less than I would have liked due to the restrictions of Covid-19.
  Some of my images from the 2020 nesting are below, with minimal comments, roughly in chronological order.

                ADULT MALE

    
        ADULT FEMALE

        COPULATION

              INCUBATION

   THE CHICK

 

    WITH FEMALE IN NEST

     INTERLUDE
 Mostly the adult kites did not seem to fly around a lot.  Then one morning I was surprised and amazed to see FOUR kites flying around together near the nest tree. Two were the adult parents of the chick. The other two were second-year, sub-adult birds, with the body and head plumage of an adult, while retaining the brown wing and tail plumage of a juvenile. I was able to get some decent images, which allow for interesting comparison.

   ADULT MALE

 SUB-ADULT NUMBER ONE: Adult body and head plumage, retaining  juvenile wing and tail plumage. Notice the wing molt in both wings, but no tail molt.

  SUB-ADULT NUMBER TWO: Adult head and body plumage, retains juvenile wing and tail plumage. This bird has little or no wing molt, but is missing some tail feathers.

   ADULT MALE KITE EATING A CICADA ON THE WING.

  
ADULT MALE KITE IN ICONIC SICKLE SHAPE FLIGHT.

  CHICK BEING FED AND GETTING BIGGER.
     Adult and chick in nest.

   Adult feeding chick.

    More feeding.

   GETTING BIGGER.

 READY TO FLEDGE. 

FLEDGED !!

EXERCISING WINGS.

FEEDING 
  Series of images of adult feeding a cicada to the fledged chick. 
  If you look carefully, you can see the wings on the cicada.

  
   Dinnertime

YUM-YUM

RESPLENDENT FLEDGED JUVENILE.

  READY TO FLY TO SOUTH AMERICA.

PEREGRINE FALCON CHICK BANDING PHOTO IMAGES.

Dr.  Bryan Watts, the Director of the Center for Conservation Biology in Williamsburg, Va. drove up to Northern Virginia  on Saturday morning May 12, 2018  to band four Peregrine Falcon chicks from a nesting ledge on a building in Reston.  I was invited, and privileged, to come along to photograph the banding activity.  I took over 100 photo images, which I have culled down to about 18, and which are posted below with some comments. 

               

               Two of the four chicks on the nesting ledge. 

 Some of the feathers on the ledge were collected and later taken to the Smithsonian for identification.  Over a dozen species of birds had been brought in by the adult Peregrines to feed their chicks, including a Robin, three Blue Jays, a Bluebird, a Red-bellied woodpecker, a Starling, and even an American Woodcock.

              The containment boxes used to bring the chicks up from the ledge to the roof for banding. 

One chick per box.  

              One of the chicks in its box. Look at the size of the feet 

                and talons on this 19-20 day old Peregrine chick.

Falcon chick before banding.

 Dr.Watts preparing to put falcon chick into cloth bag for weighing.

Dr. Watts putting another chick into bag for weighing

Dr. Bryan Watts weighing a falcon chick in bag.

Dr. Watts measuring the tarsus (leg) size of a falcon chick.

Placing alpha-numeric Virginia band on leg of falcon chick. 

Peregrine chick with unsecured Va. band on left leg.

Securing band on image above with pop rivets.

Banded chick: U. S. Geological Survey band on right leg,
Virginia green and black band on left leg. 

Banded Peregrine chick, as above.
Notice beginning wing and tail feathers emerging. 

Banded chick sounding off. 
 Tail feathers beginning to emerge. 

Detail of head of Peregrine falcon chick.

Another detail of head of falcon chick.

Banding assistant, Matthew Olear (on left), 
and Dr. Bryan Watts with a banded falcon chick.

                                          PHOTO IMAGES: 

MISSISSIPPI KITE NESTINGS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA.

                     SPRING AND SUMMER 2017 

I was privileged to be able to watch and photograph four Mississippi kite nestings in Northern Virginia in the Spring and Summer of 2017.   The nest in Arlington Co. failed.  The nesting pair near Backlick Rd. and Woodland Drive, in Fairfax County, produced at least one chick.

  I watched and photographed the returning nesting pair from 2016, near the Greenspring Park in Fairfax Co., which fledged two chicks, regularly from mid-July until Labor Day. . 

  I also watched and photographed a new nesting location, near Monticello Park in Alexandria, which fledged one chick, from their return in May (when there were as many as six kites flying around the area together), through nest building and incubation, and as the chick grew and fledged. 

 I have posted 46 of these images below. Twenty-three from the Greenspring nesting, followed by twenty-three  from the Alexandria/Monticello nesting.
       I will say, however, that for me, as nice as the nests and chicks were to watch, the real thrill was watching these beautiful and elegant birds fly, dive, and hunt.
                   I'm already looking forward to next year.

                                 THE GREENSPRING NESTING

      Chicks in nest, on July 22nd.

      
                     Fledged chick, Aug. 2nd

Fledged chick, Aug. 6th

          

     Fledgling being fed, note cicada in adult's beak. August 2nd.

Four Images.

          

 

 

Fledged juvenile, Aug. 5th

 

Both fledged juveniles, Aug. 25th.

 

                                Adult kite with cicada

            Adult kite with what appears to be a small bird.

 

              Adult kite with cicada feeding juvenile. August 25th

                                   Three images.

 

 

 

                            Another feeding of both juveniles from Aug. 25.  

                                  Three images 

 

 

          Below is one of my favorite images.

   The juvenile is in a level power flight, with wings back 

     and the Alulas on the front of the wings up. 

      I have never seen a juvenile kite fly like this before.

                                    August 25th.

 

                              This is the same juvenile soaring.

                            Adult with cicada for juvenile.

 

                                   Feeding the juvenile, notice the large

                   green cicada in the adult's beak. August 13th.

                                      Two images. 

 

                                            Perched adult Mississippi Kite.

                                      July 23rd.

 

ALEXANDRIA NESTING

    The images below are from the nesting near Monticello Park 

      in Alexandria.  I was able to watch and photograph these birds

   from soon after they arrived in early May.

            Perched adult male Mississippi kite, May 22nd

                               As above.

        

                         Adult Kite in flight. 

  Notice the very long outer primary feathers and the rufous color    

     on both the upper  and lower surface of the outer wing feathers.

                           May 29th.

        

             Adult female Mississippi kite, June 10th.

                         Adult Mississippi Kite, male, I believe.  June1st.

 

As above

                            Look carefully.

     There are four Mississippi kites perched in this tree. May 24th

                              Sub-adult, second-year, Mississippi kite.
 This bird has the body and wing plumage of an adult, 
    but retains the outer wing feathers and brown banded tail 
                     of a juvenile.  May 24th.

         Detail from a larger image with six kites in the air. May 26th.

       These are both sub-adult, second -year birds. 

   One can clearly see the adult body plumage on the lower bird,

   and the brown, banded tails on both birds.  The upper bird is 

   also undergoing heavy molt of the inner primary wing feathers.

     Detail, as above, of two adult kites flying together. May 26th.
  These are probably the same two birds that mated and nested .

               Adult Mississippi kites mating/copulating, May 26th.

                                   Three images .

            Below, the male wraps his wings around female 
              at conclusion of copulation.

           Adult kite, probably the male, during nest building, May 22.

                       Notice the red eyes.

                Chick, on left , and adult kite, on right, in nest, July 14th

             Mississippi kite chick in nest, July 14th

               Developing, now juvenile kite, in nest July 30th.

             Fledged and perched Juvenile kite. August 13th.

                  Juvenile kite with wings spread, August 13th.

      Adult kite returning to feed juvenile, with prey in beak.

     Image clearly shows the swept back wing posture, and also           the raised Alulas, on the upper edge of the wing.  Aug. 13th

                 Adult returning to nest with cicada for chick, July 16th
                  Notice the long, swept back wings.
   The wings are so long that they extend beyond the tip of
                the tail on perched birds. 

     Adult kite, appears to be the male, spreading its wings on 

         June 4th.  Back lighting shows the deep rufous color in the 

                        outer wing feathers.

          Same bird, now  perched on same branch, five minutes later.  

                    THAT'S ALL FOR NOW.  

       Hoping they all return to nest again in 2018.