A-White-tailedKite

Photo Study Of A White-tailed Kite Over Barnegat Bay, November 7th, 2010

August Mirabella, Ed Norman and I were in the right place at the right time today to get great views of the adult White-tailed Kite that has been visiting Barnegat Bay for
about the past two weeks.

I Was Even Able To Get A Few Decent Photographs When This Beautiful Vagrant Flew Right By Us
And Ed Norman Got The Photo Above Which Clearly Shows The Adult Kite's Red Eye
(The Iris Of A Juvenile WTKI Is Brown; The Adult’s Eye Is Red)

    The White-tailed Kite ((Elanus leucurus) is found in western North America and parts of South America. It has tern-like plumage and pointed wings. The bird is about
    15 inches long and has a 39 inch wingspan. It hunts rodents by hovering over open areas and dropping to the ground. Although threatened with extinction in North America
    during the early twentieth century, the White-tailed Kite has recovered since then, expanding its range in the U.S. from small portions of California, Texas, and Florida
    to Oregon and Washington, as well as into Middle America. Many North American populations have declined during the 1980s and 1990s, however, apparently because of
    habitat loss and perhaps increased disturbance. It seems this is only the second confirmed sighting of this species in New Jersey but it is most likely the same bird that was
    seen in Connecticut several weeks ago. (Wikipedia; Cornell BNA; Sibley Guide To Birds)

To see a larger image of any of my photos below, please click on either the thumbnails or the captions...thanks!


A-White-tailedKite	B-White-tailedKite	C-White-tailedKite	D-White-tailedKite	E-White-tailedKite

F-White-tailedKite	G-White-tailedKite	H-White-tailedKite	I-White-tailedKite	J-White-tailedKite

Howard B. Eskin 2010 Please email your comments to hbeskin@voicenet.com Please click here to go back to Bird Webpage Index