Mississippi Kite - Texas Birds

Mississippi Kite, Texas; 6/22/2011.

One of the birds I saw on my Sister's and Brother-in-Law's property in Texas was an addition to my Life List, a Mississippi Kite.  Unfortunately, the mourning I spotted this raptor sitting on an open branch of a dead tree about 50 yards away, the light was very low and gray, so the photo (Above) was the best I could manage with my 500mm Sigma Lens with ISO capacity of only 5.3-6.

In the summer months, Mississippi Kites are found in the South from Texas to Florida, and extend as far northwards as Southern Illinois, Kansas, and North Carolina. Occasionally they will wander further north as evidenced late last summer, there was a pair of these guys in Rockford (Northern Illinois) for a few days before they must have realized they were out of their zone and departed. They evidently didn't read the bird guides.
The photo (Above) almost looks like a black & white photo, but it is not and as it suggests, Mississippi Kites are devoid of color. They are plain gray with a pale head set off with a darker eye mask and tail. They are one of our smaller raptors at only 14" in length.

Sunset of the Day

A purple Sunset at the Eastern most point in the U.S., Quoddy Head State Park, Maine; 7/31/2008.