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Saturday, January 16, 2010

White-tailed Kites on the coast

My birding associate and I traveled to the northern Oregon coast last weekend for our first getaway of the year. We repeated the trip we made last year but stayed one more day and went to a few more spots.
Our first stop was the fields around the Nehalem Sewage Treatment Ponds where we'd seen a White-tailed Kite last year. This time we were rewarded with THREE Kites! A pair sat together and preened then a third joined them and they all hovered and hunted over the fields. My photos aren't the greatest but they bring back the thrill we felt watching all three of these magnificent birds fly effortlessly around us.







Here are a few shots of Ridgefield NWR on the New Year's Day trip with Mr and Ms Nut.
Look at their photos here, here and here .



4 comments:

NW Nature Nut said...

Cool! You know, I have never seen a Kite!

Chris Petrak said...

Such a gorgeous bird - I was disappointed not to have a good look at one when in Texas in Nov, but certainly enjoyed the grace of its flight.

Felicia said...

White-tailed Kites are one of my favorite raptors--they're actually one of the "trigger birds" that got me into birding! They're always a treat to see; thanks for sharing!

Jen Sanford said...

Wow, those Kites are awesome!