Visitors 153
Modified 21-Dec-23
Created 31-Jul-21
20 photos
Two juvenile White-tailed Kites on an outing with a parent. Stretching their wings, flying in circles, playing in the air. To me, they look ready to go off on their own -- but I have not seen them demonstrate that most crucial skill for independence: successful hunting.
Not far from here, in late September 2010, I observed one adult kite with three juveniles. There was plenty of aerial acrobatics then too -- including the handoff, in mid air, of a vole from the adult to a juvenile. This flight practice seems to be a rite of passage.
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Another highlight of today's birding adventure was seeing a Red-shouldered Hawk, circling high in the sky -- just like the Red-tails often do. Surveying the world. What a glorious life, a hawk's!
The first day of the birding group out of Escobar Gate, Jasper Ridge, in well over a year.
