North Central Illinois Ornithological Society

After birding yesterday with Dan & Barb (see previous post), Donna and I went by the intersection where juvenile kite #2 (Kid 2) was seen last Wednesday and again Friday (see 1 Sep post). We found a third juvenile kite perched on a branch 40-45 feet up in a pin oak on the northeast corner of Lundvall and Parkwood. We were able to show it to out-of-town photographers and to many residents of the neighborhood who came by to see what was going on. The kite remained on that branch until around 9:30 this morning, when it moved to a lower branch about 25-30 feet up in the same tree. We have no reports of this bird being able to fly yet.

After checking on this new “Kid 3″ this morning, Donna and I happened to discover a fourth juvenile kite sitting a two or three feet above its nest not far off Highcrest. That nest is less than 600 feet from the nest we reported here on 13 August. Although we did not see it move, Dan and Barbara Williams saw it fly about 15 feet, without leaving its nest tree. It appears to be about the same age as Kid 3.

A summary of sighting histories of these four young kites has been posted on IBET with the same title as this post.

Click on the photo below to see it in full.

Kid 4 today

Dan and Barbara Williams and I assaulted the intersection of Parkwood and Lundvall (just south of Bloom School) this morning, radios in hand, to cast a dragnet for nesting activity. Previous observations, especially last night, gave reason to believe a nest might be near here. After more than two hours of work, success! A juvenile was discovered that is capable of flying short distances. There is some reason to believe it may have a sibling, but there is as yet no confirmation of that.

Since our suspicion about nesting here was correct, I’ll go out on a limb (no pun intended) and say that we suspect there is yet another nest somewhere south of Guilford.

Very surprising is a report from two knowledgeable observers who live south of Guilford on Parkwood. Monday evening, in advance of a weather front, they watched a flock of 9 kites circling together over their house.

I have updated the map here to reflect these observations. Note that you can zoom in and out, and read details either on the key at left, or by clicking on the markers.

Weekend birders traveling to Rockford to see kites might like to know that they were very conspicuous around 11:00 today. Donna and I saw them as soon as we got to Stratford and Buckingham. Between there and west of James on Burrmont, we saw at least four, and probably five, adult kites. At James and Pelham, we had two adult males together only 50 feet over our heads. We saw kites north of Highcrest, but not at the school or south of there. They were putting on quite a show in this beautiful, breezy weather, flying at less than 200 feet altitude most of the time. There was hardly a period for 15 minutes that one was not in sight as we cruised around looking for (and not finding) a young bird.

Around 1:30, we detoured from errands to run by Oliver Road. Along the oxbows there, we found 26 Great Egrets and perhaps 100 shorebirds. In order of abundance, they were Killdeers and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectorals, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Snipes, Spotted Sandpiper, and Wilson’s Phalarope. Certainly worth checking again tomorrow morning—heat haze won’t be a problem, and something really good could drop in at any time.

Donut lovers: Edwards Orchard store on Cemetery Road opened today.

The Buckingham Drive juvenile’s primaries have now grown to expected length, beyond the end of its tail. Not surprisingly, it can now fly short distances. Late this afternoon, I watched it fly about 50 feet, from one tree to another. This is apparently the first day it has been capable of flight. According to the current literature, this would put its age at 30 to 35 days. (Literature I am citing is the comprehensive report by Jim Parker for Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Birds of North America Online.)

This bird is about a week ahead of the schedule we observed for juveniles in 2008 and 2009. It should be a reluctant flier for the next 15 to 20 days, frequenting the nest area. It will not attempt to catch insects with adults until age 50+ days, so the adults will continue to feed it. Parental feeding will become infrequent after 60 days. On such a timetable, we could expect to see kites in Rockford until at least September 16-21. This is about as long as they stayed the last two years.

As yet, there is no positive indication that the adult kites in other areas around Bloom School have raised young. We have been closely monitoring their activities, and none of them appear to be making repeated feeding trips to a nest site. Certainly, none of them have a young bird following them around begging for food, as would be the case had juveniles left the nest.

If you do happen to see a young bird associating with adults, please report the time and place and particulars so that we can gain knowledge of how this possible range extension is proceeding. Observe carefully, however—young Cooper’s Hawks are about the same size, and are also brown and streaked. They have been seen circling over Bloom School with adult kites several times recently. You can report by commenting on this report, or by using the numbers at Rockford-MIKIs.

The young kite seen in the nest last Friday was found on the ground yesterday morning by Chicago birders. It may have fallen out as long ago as Saturday. It cannot fly yet. In fact, it has a hard time perching on thinner branches, and occasionally tips over and ends hanging upside down, wings akimbo.

Late yesterday afternoon, it somehow crossed a lawn, a street, and another lawn, and climbed into a tall dense bush. Today it has worked its way up to the top of the bush, and from there to a small tree. It appears to be healthy and strong, and having survived this long on or near the ground, we trust it will soon be flying and hunting on its own.

This morning between 6:20 and 6:45, I counted 5 kites perched in the Bloom School neighborhood. The subadult perched for 2½ hours in the big tree near Buckingham and Pleasant View. Other raptors seen nearby in the last 4 days are Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Turkey Vulture, and today around noon, a Sharp-shinned Hawk soaring with three Mississippi Kites.

The Carolina Wren is singing regularly around the intersections of Buckingham with Roncevalles and Scottswood.

Click on the pictures below to see them full size.

Fledgling kite today

Struggling to stay upright

Being fed by adult male

Now two young Mississippi Kites have been seen. A flying juvenile was seen at Bloom School yesterday at 9 AM by Fran Morel of Evanston. We believe this to be the product of a nesting pair from the southern “hot spot” area marked on my map at the link given in the previous post. A second juvenile from the northern “hot spot” was found this morning.

There is a Carolina Wren at the red house across the street from 3306 Buckingham.

Mississippi Kites continue to be sighted in Rockford, but no young have yet been seen. For a graphic view of their activity to date, see the map at http://tinyurl.com/Rockford-MIKIs. Zoom in and out for a more complete picture.

This morning, for several hours, I watched several kites in the Bloom School neighborhood. (And at 2:45 this afternoon, there were 3 perched there, one over the school parking lot’s bike stand.) Before today, the kite count has been 3 adult males and one adult female, all being seen together a couple of times. Today, I saw a year-old female bird perched, which brings the count to 5 separate individuals. Later I saw another female flying, which differed from the two females I saw perched together. That would be a sixth individual.

Near that neighborhood, a Carolina Wren was singing this morning at 1907 Kings Highway.

But maybe my best sighting was early this afternoon when I was at my home in Shaw Woods. I looked out the window and next to my birdbath I saw a mink carrying a chipmunk it had caught. As it ran off with it, a Cooper’s Hawk swooped at it.

At this link there is a map showing some recent sightings, as well as significant occurrences in 2008 and 2009. In order to get a better idea of whether we have an emerging colony of kites here in Rockford, it would be helpful if we gathered as many kite sighting reports as possible. You can help by reporting your kite sighting details. If you are not comfortable posting on this site, or adding a comment, you can call one of the following numbers. (If you reach an answering machine, please leave the details, your name, and a way of reaching you in case there are questions.) The numbers are for reports, not for obtaining information on where to find kites. The above-mentioned map should suffice for that.

Thanks for your help.

815-877-6229
815-968-4732