Around 6:15 p.m. tonight, I was driving across the Auburn Street bridge over the Rock River (in Rockford) when I saw what appeared to be an adult gull, which, in itself, is a little odd for here in mid-June.  Behind the gull, I saw the shape of a kite, and then, 2 kites, hunting over the river.  I hurried to turn around and get to a place on the east bank of the river to look more carefully, but not at the gull.
 
After I parked and got to the edge of the river, I saw 3 MIKI.  On closer look, I identified all of them as adult males!  They were continuously feeding on insects and, occasionally, soaring around over several Turkey Vultures which had moved in from the SE.  I stayed at the park and watched for over 30 minutes, but did not see more than the 3, nor did I see any females or immatures of either sex.  I will leave it to your collective imaginations to speculate on what this does, or does not, (or might, or might not) imply.  I think that it too soon to tell anything, but the possibilities sure are interesting.
 
The bridge and river are not more than 1 mile away from Bloom School, where kites have successfully nested for two years in a row, and a pair are back there this year.  Despite hours of searching last year, we were unable to find more than the 4 kites seen by Larry Balch in late May and none along the Rock River at any time.  Clearly, more field investigation is required.  I have an idea where I might be taking a “rest stop” on my way home from work this summer.  

I still don’t know, for sure, what that gull was, but I strongly suspect Ring-billed.