White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) at Nelson Environmental Study Area
Jefferson County, Kansas
September 14-19, 2006

Canon EOS 20D / EF 500mm f4L IS + 2.0x teleconverter
All photos © 2006 David Seibel
 

Atop a small dead cedar surrounded by prairie, bathed in early morning light. It had caught and eaten a small rodent at daybreak and spent the next 1.5 hours or more preening on this perch. The bird was first spotted and photographed by Galen Pittman on the afternoon of September 11.


Reaction to an oncoming Cooper's Hawk; seemingly a much more frenetic takeoff than normal, with the wings lifted higher, presumably for greater propulsion. The Cooper's Hawk charged in from behind, and the kite rose quickly and circled to meet it face-on. After a brief midair squabble, the Cooper's turned and flew back to the north, and the kite returned to the same perch and continued preening. Two days earlier I had seen an American Kestrel divebombing the kite while it was perched.


I returned at dawn on September 19 to try for some more shots but could not locate the bird for nearly an hour. It finally appeared (or at least I noticed it) in the same location as before, and it was quite cooperative, as was the light.




Notice the Monarch that happened to fly by as I took this shot. The kite glanced at it but seemed relatively uninterested.