(click picture for larger image)
This is a White Tailed Kite being harassed by a pair of crows. I noticed the crows mobbing the Kite, so I grabbed my camera and managed to get one picture of the fight.
For some reason the Kite circled around the area as if reluctant to leave.
Then another White Tailed Kite appeared on the scene and also started harassing the first Kite, dive bombing and screaming at it several times. I think it's a struggle for territory. This is one of the better pics of the aerial combat.
This is the best picture I managed to capture. The lower bird is the attacking bird and it is screaming at the upper bird. So first the Kite is mobbed by crows and then is run off by a screaming Kite. It's a bad day for that Kite.
And here is the winner of the turf war. You can see the beak open and I will always remember that screech!
Camera is Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS8. Pictures cropped/sharpened with Photoscape.
From my corner of the world, West Sacramento, Calif.
Edited to add: The mobbing crows were probably robbing the kite's nest in the tree. Which is why it did not want to leave the area. The other kite was probably defending its territory.
It was a good day!
5 comments:
Mated pairs will also hand off caught prey in mid-air, which is something I've tried to catch an image of for years...
I've seen one of those pictures. Incredible.
Zippinknits - your second comment got deleted on the blog but I had the comment in my email. Yes, I wondered if the crows were protecting their own nest, it did not occur to me that they may have been robbing the Kite's nest in the top of that tree. I expect the Kite has time to make another nest since it is still early in Spring. Crows are nasty. Have a good day!
zippiknits has left a new comment on your post "Bad Day For A Kite":
Sorry about that, Franco. I meant to say that those are great photos!
and also to say:
Crows are nest robbers, too. I hate to see them mobbing any other bird.
I've seen this kind of thing at Point Pinole with the crow and a red tailed hawk. it's the time of year for nest raiding.
Jen, you and Z are probably right. The crows were probably robbing the kite's nest in the tree shown in first picture. There was quite a struggle there. And the reluctance to leave the area. It makes sense. Stupid crows.
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