Documentation of
White-tailed Kite
2019-002
Observer Information
Reporter:
Jill Smith
1507 SUNSET PLACE,
LAMAR,
CO 81052
E-mail:
jillsmith0731@gmail.com
Other Observers:
Ron Smith
Species, Date, Time and Location Information
Species:
White-tailed Kite
First Date/Time:
5/27/2019 1:30:00 PM
Last Date/Time:
5/27/2019 1:33:00 PM
Duration (total time in view):
3 minutes
County:
Prowers
Specific Location:
1/4 mile east of Road 31, while traveling on Road KK
Number:
1
Age:
Adult
Sex:
Unknown
Plumage:
Other/Unknown
Habitat
SMALL Elm Tree along country road. Surrounding fields of Alfalfa as well as open pasture.
Viewing Conditions
Optics:
150-600 mm lens on a crop sensor Nikon camera
Distance:
50 75 yards
Light:
BRIGHT sunshine
Description of the Bird
Ok, this is DEFINITELY the find of the day... maybe of my LIFE!! Ron (my husband) and I took the afternoon to explore back roads heading to the Holly area. about 1/4 of a mile East of Road #1, while traveling on Road KK in Prowers County, I could see a REALLY bright white bird.. all alone... sitting in the top of a small elm tree hanging on as the wind tossed him about. I asked Ron to stop a LONG way off to start getting pictures while my head was going through lists of what it could be... because it was soooo bright! a Gull? that would be nuts! There are no Hawks that size and white. Then I thought... well, maybe a Kite. But it was a weird location for a Mississippi Kite... Finally, I got out of the pick-up, using it as a blind and started shooting.. At first, I thought... oh yeah, it IS a Kite... but WAIT... something is not right!... Actually the more I looked through my lens, the more was NOT right: the face, the wings, the head... and definitely the tail. My heart started pounding! I had Ron pull the pickup forward, while I walked beside it on the passenger side. We finally stopped about 50-75 yards from the bird, stopping several times to shoot. I then jumped back in the pick-up, looked up on my app other Kites... to see if my hunch was right. I found the entry about White-tailed Kites... It looked like a match, but the RANGE was WAYYYY off. So because I'm never totally confident, I posted a picture from the back of my camera to What's This Bird? (an American Birding Association Facebook ID page) to get confirmation. Confirmation came immediately (Thanks Nathan Swick and Cole Wild).
Similar Species Discussion
Humm... my last description covered this. I considered: Gulls, Hawks, and more seriously: Mississippi Kites. Eliminated Gulls: Totally wrong shape, size, enviroment, and it was in a TREE! hahaha! Eliminated all Hawks.. Too small, too white, wrong shape. I eliminated Mississippi Kite, because the face, eyes, head shape, tail color, back color were all wrong.. AND there was that BLACK on the wings of this bird... which was difficult to see at first... I though he had his wing lifted in the wind and the black was a shadow UNDER the wing. However, when I looked at my IMAGES, I could clearly see that it was BLACK feathers
Resources Used
I used two apps on my phone: Sibley's and Audubon
Previous Experience
I have seen one once at a FAR distance when I was in South Texas a year ago in January. I've never seen one anywhere else. I have LOTS of experience with Mississippi Kites, as they are VERY common this time of year in Prowers County. That's why I knew this was NOT a Mississippi
Date Documentation Submitted
5/27/2019 10:37:00 PM
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