White-tailed Kite Day 12

The White-tailed Kite is still here! However, there has been no sign of the Brown Pelican since the evening of August 10. A Black Tern, possibly the same bird, was seen today at Milford Point. This is the nature of pelican sightings in Connecticut, especially Brown. They are often seen and never relocated. The fact we saw the pelican land in water in Milford and a few people were actually able to get to Stratford or Milford to scope it to see it fishing or flying was amazing. Not being able to find it yesterday did not surprise me. Many of Connecticut's well-known names with decades of experience in conservation and birding have never seen a Brown Pelican in the state, including our own Senior Director of Science and Conservation, Milan Bull. My point is that while the bird is rare, the toughest part of seeing one is the fact only those lucky to be wherever one is get a fleeting glimpse. No one else can usually "chase" it. He was certainly envious of me and everyone who was there Tuesday night, to say the very least.

Here is a second high definition video of the White-tailed Kite shot last night, August 11.

White-tailed Kite 2 from Connecticut Audubon Society.

The kite was at its favored hunting grounds and the closest thing it has to a home, Stratford Point. The beginning of the video shows it hover-hunting and soaring a bit, which can be tough to see, let alone shoot. Notice some Common Terns and Barn Swallows attacking or pestering it. Towards the end I left in three kind of tough shots of it diving for prey. It is a very fast, agile, and stealthy bird when it wants to be.

Here are a few photos of the kite with a vole, first from the Director of the Coastal Center at Milford Point, Frank Gallo:




A couple more soaring shots from Paul Fusco:



Thanks to them! Let's hope the White-tailed Kite keeps finding plenty of food. The next week should not feature any major cold fronts, the prominent trigger to fall raptor movements, and the most likely way I believe it would depart. It seems like it will be here for a while longer. If you have not come to see it stop by Stratford Point or Milford Point soon!


Photos 1-3 © Frank Gallo; photos 4-5 © Paul Fusco

Brown Pelican at Stratford Point with the White-tailed Kite

The White-tailed Kite continued to be seen today at Stratford Point, Short Beach, and Milford Point. I went back tonight in hopes of seeing it hunting, as I do nearly every late afternoon or evening, and to allow visitors in to the site. Twan was still there, doing work mapping spartina growth around Stratford Point, an exciting development in itself. A group of around 12-15 people was present, some of us waiting as we do each night. We saw the kite about 1 1/4 miles away at Milford Point, sitting in a cedar as it usually does. My hopes for its return were low.

While all of us relaxed and chatted, and I faced towards Long Island Sound and the Stratford Lighthouse, myself and another man saw it flying along the shore. I screamed out something slightly inappropriate while he said "Pelican!" as I was already running to the sound side of the building. The group followed and a few of us quickly snapped off photos. I got one decent one considering the spur of the moment run, kneel, and shoot with only an optical zoom:

A Brown Pelican!

Scott Vincent's amazing photos, thank you!




We watched it fly further towards Milford, eventually landing in the waters just on the Milford side of the large breakwater. We emailed and called people frantically. We checked the field guides we had to verify that this was a young Brown Pelican while looking at it through scopes. American White Pelicans are a very rare sight, and we were fortunate enough to have a group of eight that a few of us tracked down the Connecticut coast to locations including Stratford Point last December...but a Brown Pelican? This is exceptionally rare, and a notable state record.

As we were in total shock the White-tailed Kite flew in right in front of our eyes, only about 50 feet away. It hovered for food as the Common Terns attacked it. Even those of us who had seen the kite, or someone who has every day like myself, was in awe of the looks we had over the next few minutes. The Brown Pelican, albeit far away, was in the same plane of view. It is still mind-blowing to think of. I have never had two more rare Connecticut birds at the same moment in my life, and I likely never will again.

The kite captured a small mammal and took it to its favorite perch when people are there (and it cannot use a telephone pole), the Juniper tree in the corner of the site. It ate while we watched the Brown Pelican. Not to be outdone it then flew to a tree near the middle building, very close to all of us. I have also never had a moment where it was so difficult to divide my attention. All of us enjoyed breathtaking views, the best in days - trust me, I have been here constantly. A bit later, we added a Black Tern to the day's list, which, while not exceptionally rare, I believe is the first seen in Connecticut this year. The pelican was last seen heading towards Milford Harbor. It may very well be in the same area tomorrow morning. We have a good chance, though it is highly unlikely it will stick around in the way the kite has, or for any substantial amount of time.

I will add pictures of the Brown Pelican if I receive more soon from the other guys. It was an absolutely unbelievable evening. As I have mentioned lately these other wonderful sightings make me wonder what we have been missing at Stratford Point with only a few eyes there for short periods of time until now. If not for the White-tailed Kite none of us would have been there at the time tonight. We have it to thank for finding the Brown Pelican.


Photo 1 © Scott Kruitbosch; photos 2-4 © Scott A. Vincent

White-tailed Kite Day 9

The White-tailed Kite has passed the one-week mark in Connecticut and was seen this morning at Stratford Point. It has quickly acclimated to its new home at the mouth of the Housatonic River, going being Stratford Point, Short Beach in Stratford, and Milford Point on a constant basis. It also takes an occasional trip by the old Army engine plant, the airport, and the Stratford Great Meadows Important Bird Area. You can still get fantastic views in the early morning and evening hours, when it hunts the most. The best bet is the early morning (sunrise to two hours after) at Stratford Point. The pictures below are of it fighting another juvenile Peregrine Falcon on Sunday night. Having to literally run my cheap camera without a large lens was able to get a couple decent shots.



The Peregrine started the fight. I was with a sizable group of people at Stratford Point, watching it on a pole just above our heads. While chatting and taking photos, remarking on the bands, the kite sneaked in and started hovering for a meal in front of the main building. We did not even see the Peregrine hop up - it was attacking the kite before you could blink. The rather ferocious battle lasted around three minutes, both birds going further and further out over the water until they went up the Housatonic a bit, barely in range of my 12 power binoculars. The White-tailed Kite maintained air superiority, staying above the falcon nearly the entire time, doling out several sharp attacks on the aggressor. The Peregrine broke to Short Beach after it had enough, with the kite going back to Milford Point, staying there for the night rather than returning to Stratford. It was incredible.

Another fun part will be finding out where this juvenile Peregrine Falcon is from. I sent the band information to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. When I have the background on the bird I will post it. Stratford Point has had hundreds if not thousands of visitors over the past week. I have spent probably upwards of 70 hours there since the kite first appeared. Apart from the fact I would be able to write a book on it, we have seen many other fantastic birds at Stratford Point and the Coastal Center at Milford Point, an already well-known birding hotspot.

The word on Stratford Point as a wonderful place to come visit apart from the kite is getting out. Please keep it in mind as a birding destination even after the kite leaves...whenever that will be. It seems to be well fed and quite content here now, even though it is avoiding people more than it used to. As the visiting crowds dwindle in size the longer it stays this may only encourage it to stick around even more. I am hopeful that the only thing to trigger the kite's departure will be cooler weather, and we are quite far away on the calendar from cooling down significantly.

Below is a list of the species, 74 in all with several rarities, seen from August 1-8 at Stratford Point. Today, August 9, added a Merlin. A notable subspeices, "western" Willet, was spotted last week too.

Mute Swan
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Glossy Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
White-tailed Kite
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Lesser Yellowlegs
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Least Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Monk Parakeet
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow


Photos © Scott Kruitbosch

White-tailed Kite Day 7

Yes, the White-tailed Kite is still here at Stratford Point, Milford Point, and between at Short Beach. Tomorrow will be one week since it was found. I have been getting a ton of questions via email and in person, so here's more information on Stratford Point and the White-tailed Kite. Please pass this along to anyone and everyone. Here are some more contributed photos of the ever-amazing but more elusive kite and then the FAQ.






1) What and where is Stratford Point?
Stratford Point is what we call the 28-acre coastal grasslands management area that is manged by the Connecticut Audubon Society and owned by Sporting Goods Properties, a subsidiary of DuPont. It is located at 1207 Prospect Drive in Stratford, Connecticut. You cannot miss it on a map or if you come to that address in person. It is a very spectacular and unique property situated on the mouth of the Housatonic River and Long Island Sound. It is open to many forms of passive recreation, including all birding, when the gate is open and we are here.

2) So what's the gun club?
Stratford Point was for decades a Remington gun and skeet shooting club where millions of lead shots were fired into the waters of the Housatonic and Long Island Sound. Remediation is making progress but ongoing. That pollution is the only current sign of the past, and being 24 years-old I do not remember the club at all. Hopefully we can forget about that unfortunate history in this beautiful natural habitat. For ease of understanding it is referred to as Stratford Point now.

3) Where's the kite usually?
This is complex. It roosts near Stratford Point and moves around quite a bit during the day now. We do not know the exact tree or even small area, and have only a general idea. If we did it would understandably not be public information. Suffice it to say if you come to Stratford Point in the early morning you have an exceptionally high chance of at least seeing it, probably getting great views. It always comes back in the evening, most of the time hunting briefly, a couple times going right to the trees in the back and staying out of sight. In the early part of the week (August 1-3) it was exceptionally conspicuous and stayed at Stratford Point nearly all the time. It has since explored a lot more, and it goes to Short Beach and Milford Point for prolonged periods. It also occasionally stops over in the Stratford Great Meadows Important Bird Area. Between its supreme hunting skills (not needing to hunt or be visible for too long), the knowledge it now has of the area, and the people with shiny things chasing after it or staring at it, I think it moves around to keep away from the crowds and relax. On the hotter days it sometimes stays out of view completely in the shade of a cool tree.

4) When does the gate at Stratford Point open?
When I open it. All this means is that most of the time, some weekdays aside, I am the first or only one there. There is no set time or schedule. I open the gate when I arrive. When Twan or Miley get there they may open it earlier. I do not open the gate mostly until later in the 7 o'clock hour so the kite can be left alone to hunt and feed after sunrise. This is critical to keeping it here. It needs to feed a lot in the early morning, and it seems like now it cannot or will not do that properly with crowds on the property itself. You are welcome to watch it from outside of Stratford Point property on Prospect Drive, or down on the beach, but please do not venture onto the site when it is not open. Let the kite hunt. The gate is open roughly from 7 to 7 lately, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, and sometimes closed. But as said the kite is spending much more time away from the coastal grasslands management area.

5) Where can I find these supposedly amazing pictures of the kite?
The infamous photos, including those taken while it fought a Peregrine Falcon, were taken by several great photographers and are on this Connecticut Audubon Society blog. Check entries below this one or in the archive to the right. You will also find more information on the bird, how it was found, a HD video I shot of it last Sunday, Stratford Point sightings, etc.

6) What else can I see at Stratford Point?
Nearly any kind of bird you like. Fall migration has been underway here since early July. Swallows are moving through every day with Chimney Swifts. Yellow Warblers, and sometimes anything from a Common Yellowthroat to Prairie Warbler, are going through too. Earlier today I had a group of 8 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher feeding before going towards the Stratford Lighthouse to keep migrating. Bobolinks and Orchard Oriole are common. Falcons, from the infamous Peregrine to American Kestrels, are often seen. Right now we have a ton of shorebirds either feeding, roosting, or flying by, nearly every kind you can imagine all the way to an occasional fly-by Whimbrel. We have terns from Common and Least to Roseate and Forster's, even once in a while a Royal or Caspian. You can see nearly anything during this migration period, and I totaled over 50 diverse species yesterday. We are finding a lot more lately with prolonged periods of time spent there and so many more eyes.

7) Where is the kite RIGHT now?!
I can probably answer this in the moment, but keep your eyes on this CT birding email list, and please help me and us out by posting information or at least passing it along to someone like myself in Stratford or anyone at the Coastal Center in Milford. This helps everyone.

8) How was the kite discovered?
Dennis Varza, a legendary and well-known name in Connecticut, found it flying around Stratford Point from Short Beach on Sunday, August 1 around 8AM.

9) Who are you?
I am the young guy with a white Audubon Science and Conservation staff t-shirt and a Yankees hat. So please feel free to ask me where the kite is, tell me you saw it, inquire about something else, or simply introduce yourself.

10) Thank you so much!
If you want to thank me or the Connecticut Audubon Society please donate to the Connecticut Audubon Society. It makes all of this possible. Please consider joining here too. Either way you would be doing a great service, and we thank you. We are all thrilled that so many people have had a great time with this spectacular raptor.


Photos 1 © Julian Hough; photos 2-4 © A.J. Hand

White-tailed Kite Day 5

I found the White-tailed Kite at Stratford Point this morning around 7:45. This is the fifth day it has been present here in Stratford. It popped up from a tree near the second building at Stratford Point, flying to a smaller tree by the entrance. It sat here for only a minute while I got my camera set as a truck drove down the to the end of Prospect Drive. I saw it turn its head to watch it coming, then hop up and fly east, going all the way to Short Beach. It was still early, and I told a group of birders that came a bit later to remain at Stratford Point and hope that it would come back.

The best photo of the perched kite I have seen - thanks to Jim Zipp for this and the next picture!

The kite came back about an hour later, putting on quite a show, flying and perching and being mobbed by Common Terns and Herring Gulls. After around 30 minutes of exposure, it went back to Short Beach and disappeared low to the ground near the haze. It was seen around noon and during the early afternoon at Short Beach. I do not know what its whereabouts were after or what they are right now. However, as I learn how the kite behaves and its daily schedule, I can surmise it returned to Stratford Point about an hour ago. I would guess it already had dinner and went to roost, though it may still be hunting for a late snack.

Another amazing fight picture, White-tailed Kite vs juvenile Peregrine Falcon

I say this so that out of state and more local visitors can understand that the easiest times to see the White-tailed Kite are early morning and the late afternoon or evening. These are the most active hunting hours. At other times, especially on warm days, it is less active and stays out of the sun and heat. I am often asked if I know where it is at X time - probably not. If the kite is in a tree somewhere around Short Beach, or even near Stratford Point, it hides very well. It is larger than you may think but it is still on the small side for a raptor. If it wants to cool down, rest, and not be found it is very capable of eluding everyone. It has a couple trees it favors over others to perch on, but even then, it will go anywhere it feels like. There is no discernible pattern for roost trees because it is simply not found very often.

Thanks to Mark Szantyr for this amazing field sketch!

Many people reading this do not know much about the coastal grasslands management area at Stratford Point. It supports a great deal of infrequently found or rare birds during every part of the year. Today it also had the juvenile Peregrine Falcon pictured above (though the photo was from Tuesday), an adult male American Kestrel, a Green Heron, a couple Bobolink and Purple Martin, a few Orchard Oriole, and migrants such as Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, House Wren, and more. We have large concentrations of swallows and shorebirds as well. Please stop by in the future for other great sightings, as you can see some amazing birds here - even if they just fly by.

I have a request from Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo for everyone who visits Milford Point to see the kite (or the many other great birds) to drive slowly, as neighbors were upset with visitors speeding down the road. It is a 25MPH street. Please respect this and be safe, as we need to stay on good terms with our wonderful neighbors. Keep this in mind in Stratford please - besides the neighbors there, the White-tailed Kite absolutely hates vehicular traffic, too. Drive up carefully and watch for people and the kite. Thank you in advance!


Photos © Jim Zipp; field sketch © Mark Szantyr

More White-tailed Kite fighting Peregrine Falcon

The White-tailed Kite was seen for a fourth day at Stratford Point and Short Beach. Later on I will have more about its day, but for now here are some more pictures of it fighting with a juvenile Peregrine Falcon from yesterday courtesy of Scott Vincent. Thanks to him! See the post below for other battle pictures from yesterday.

Photos © Scott A. Vincent

White-tailed Kite Day 3

The White-tailed Kite continued for a third day. It was found once again very early this morning at Stratford Point. While I spent a lot of time at Stratford Point, most of it was while the bird was absent. I did not witness these events - friends and birders have passed on the general stories. It hunted for rodents not long after sunrise, eating a mouse and a vole from around 6AM to 8AM. It even sat on a telephone pole for one of its meals. A huge highlight of this increasingly prolonged visit was an encounter with a juvenile Peregrine Falcon. The two birds tangled at Stratford Point, attacking one another and even locking talons in mid-air. The impression I got from eyewitness accounts was that it was not particularly vicious, but these stunning photos from Tom Sayers portray a lot.






Thanks Tom! What amazing pictures. The kite flew across to Short Beach and spent some time in the trees around the playground before disappearing before 9AM. No one could locate it for quite some time, though the general thought was that it had gone east and was between Short Beach and Connecticut Audubon Society's Coastal Center at Milford Point. A few hours later, it was located, oddly enough, on a sand bar. This worked out wonderfully for many people as they could visit the CAS Coastal Center and take a short walk to scope it on the sand bars. It certainly loves the Connecticut Audubon Society. Milford Point also had a Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, and various counts of Red Knot.


Apparently the kite spent from around 9AM to around 5:20PM going from bar to bar, progressively moving west. It ate something on one of these bars in the mid-afternoon, mantling and protecting its kill. I have no idea what it caught out there, though it seems unlikely to be a rodent. The species rarely eats birds, but there were many shorebirds in the area that seem like possible prey. High tides and fading daylight must have encouraged it to return to Stratford Point. Upon arrival, it quickly caught and ate a large vole, disappearing until dark, having gone to roost for the night (presumably) in one of the trees near the property.


Photos 2-4 © Tom Sayers; photos 1 & 5 © Frank Gallo