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.
GETTING BIGGER.
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.
