Home»Jasper Ridge Galleries»White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) at Jasper Ridge and Nearby

I just love the kites. Hovering, "kiting": keeping one station in the heavens, wings beating, head perfectly still, scanning the grassland below for voles. A vole just sees a stationary shadow, like a cloud. No bird flying by. Then the shadow gets larger and larger... Before the vole reacts, the kite is in a power dive. Talons extend at the last minute. Another meal if the kite is lucky.

Curated in August 2024, when it feels as if we are seeing fewer kites than before. Ask the birders! Here are a few from the Frog Pond in Portola Valley Ranch, and even some from Spring Ridge Trail up on Windy Hill. But most of these are from Jasper Ridge out of Escobar Gate, on the monthly bird transects since 2009.