Yesterday morning got a good enough view to identify it as a white tail kite.
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| White Tailed Kite (not my photo) |
Always fun to make a positive identification on a bird.
Especially one seen for the first time.
From the Audubon Society: The tame, elegant White-tailed Kite was formerly shot in large numbers by farmers who thought it threatened their chickens, although the birds feed almost entirely on insects and a few small rodents. The North American population was reduced to a pitiful remnant, and it was feared that the species might become extinct here. White-tailed Kites have since made a spectacular comeback in California and Texas and are now common in suitable lowland habitats. Like other kites, they are sociable outside the breeding season, congregating at roosts in groups of a dozen or more. They feed mainly on small rodents and insects, which they locate by hovering kestrel-like high in the air. These kites prefer to rest on treetops or other high lookouts.
(A very interesting piece on the Cornucopia site. Don't Ask How to Feed the 9 Billion....link at left. Definitely worth reading to debunk Monsanto's claim that we need genetically modified crops and bundles of chemical pesticides in order to end world hunger.)
(A very interesting piece on the Cornucopia site. Don't Ask How to Feed the 9 Billion....link at left. Definitely worth reading to debunk Monsanto's claim that we need genetically modified crops and bundles of chemical pesticides in order to end world hunger.)
