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Re: more post-breeding dispersal
Hey Steve and all -
While I don't think anybody's done any studies, I think Mississippi Kites in
populous areas are pretty common, especially any place with large trees near a
body of water. Since they also nest in the Plains, I am not sure that even the
water is necessary, although here in the South, water is required for one of
their favorite foods, dragonflies. I first became acquainted with the species
while living in an older subdivision (meaning lower housing densities and big
trees) on the banks of the Congaree River in West Columbia. A pair nested in
the neighborhood somewhere, although I never could quite figure out where. I
figured it was somewhere along a small creek that run through some of the
vacant land back off the major highway nearby. That is where I learned
their "wolf whistle" call, watched them "kite" (hanging becalmed in the vortex
of small thermals) and learned that they are indeed predators. They hunted ny
feeders with regularity. Unlike the "prey species" reaction to most predators,
which involves much screeching of alarm calls and a great flutter of wings, the
small birds would disappear as quietly as smoke when the Mississippi Kite would
appear overhead. I watched two kites argue over possession of a (dead) small
brown bird one afternoon, so they were successful at least occasionally.
As for post-breeding dispersal, I'd love to see some discussion on what
motivates some individuals to disperse. All of the records for Mississippi
Kite that I know of from Fairfield county are post-breeding dispersal (between
mid-June and late August). The records of White Ibis in Fairfield are even
more narrowly delimited - early July.
Donna Slyce Bailey
Winnsboro, SC