Look! A Kite!

The Mississippi Kites have arrived, a sure sign of Spring! They winter in Southern South America and apparently Gainesville, FL is on the extreme outer edge of their breeding range because they visit us each year right around now. They are amazing flyers, catching their prey of insects, lizards, bats and small flying birds such as swallows and swifts, in the air on the fly! I was photographing some other birds in my back yard when I saw two of them appear, out of nowhere, overhead. I got one shot before they both disappeared behind the trees. It was an awful shot so I just played with it a bit so that I could celebrate their return by featuring them on Blip! Better shots of the Kites in the near future! :)