Once again, Mississippi Kites seem to have had a difficult year nesting
in New Hampshire in 2023. I'm guessing the weather in June may have
been a big factor. Like the past two years, only a single nest was
found and only a single chick was confirmed to fledge. This despite the
fact that at least 4 pairs of kites were confirmed on territory. The
Kites were first made famous by nesting in 2008 and this is (at least)
the 16th consecutive year that kites (between 1 and 4 pairs) have nested
in New Hampshire in this isolated, rare, nesting colony.
A summary of the 4 Kite territories was as follows:
DURHAM - Kites in Durham had been somewhat regular in recent years, but
they haven't produced any young in the last 3 years. This year, a pair
was observed on May 23rd and they were seen carrying sticks into a
potential nest site! Another visit on May 28th found the pair
copulating and bringing in more nesting material. But sadly, they
appear to have abandoned at some point after this. I don't know of any
sightings after July 2nd.
NEWMARKET - The Kites of Newmarket continue to be a big mystery. Who the
heck knows what's going on? Two birds showed up at a traditional spot
on May 16th. Then again, two birds were seen on May 27th flying above
this same location. Then a single bird at same spot on July 28th.
Another bird was reported from a different historic location in
Newmarket on June 19th. I spent a lot of time searching, but came up
empty. An intriguing report of a possible juvenile (or 1st summer?)
bird was reported on August 27th. Bottom line, no firm territory was
found, but there appears to still be some activity in the town. It's
possible they nested in town somewhere, but hard to say.
STRATHAM #1 - This was a new territory last year and the site where the
only chick from 2022 fledged. At least one bird was reported back in
the area on May 11th and two birds were first reported on May 26th.
Birds were observed carrying sticks and working on a nest on May 30th.
And then over 2 weeks later on June 16, they were observed carrying
sticks again! Then on June 25th, the pair was seen COPULATING?!?! I
can only guess that they failed at their first attempt and the
copulation was just a veiled attempt to renest which apparently never
happened.
STRATHAM #2 - Last year I found a new nest with a chick in it in
Stratham on July 29th and it was the only chick that fledged for 2022.
This year, I found a different nest in a new location in Stratham on
August 24th! What a relief! I had thought the season was over and we
werent going to have any baby Kites! It's easiest to find these nests
when they're bringing in food and this is how I found this nest. The
nest was high up in a maple tree crotch in the front yard of a single
family home in an established residential neighborhood. I never got a
chance to talk to the home owners.
The baby fledged on August 30th or September 1st and was still seen in
the area flying and being fed by the female on September 7th. This was
my last sighting, but a neighbor claims that they were there on the
10th. This is pushing the envelope as to the late fledge date.
Hopefully the chick had learned to feed on its own and hopefully it is
now passing through the southeastern US on its way to Paraguay! Here's
a photo of the fledged chick a day after leaving its nest:
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/608584890
A summary of confirmed fledged Kites (and pairs of kites present) from
recent years in NH:
2017 - 0 (3 pairs)
2018 - 3 (3 pairs)
2019 - 2 (3 pairs)
2020 - 3 (3 pairs)
2021 - 1 (4 pairs)
2022 - 1 (4 or 5 pairs)
2023 - 1 (4 pairs)
Thanks to all who helped out this year and contributed to this information.
PLEASE NOTE - I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE LOCATIONS OF MOST OR ALL OF
THESE NESTS QUIET UNLESS THE CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT. THE POPULARITY OF
THESE BIRDS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS (AND BIRDERS WITH CAMERAS) IS A MESSY
SITUATION WITH HOME OWNERS AND NEIGHBORS. The kites don't seem to care
much, but the people do.
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA
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