A rare Ga bird found here..

ping

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,205
Purraise
2
Location
Ga
Well for the past 2 days I have been seeing a bird I had never seen before. At first I thought it was a seagull but we are to far inland for that. So its really been bugging me. So tonight I got on the internet and did some looking around to find what it is I am seeing. Because I have lived here 3 years and I have never seen this bird. Well lo and behold it a Swallow-Tailed Kite. Its a type of hawk. It used to be quite common around Ga but in the late 60's its population dropped 70 %. Since 1996 they have been trying to bring the populations back. But from what I have read online they still are not seen in my area. Right now I do not have any pictures of the one here but here are some from on the internet. He/She has been here every day for the past few days (and flying low looking for food) so hopefully I can get some pictures.

Here is some info:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou..._Kite.html#map



I will be calling the DNR in the morning now that I know what I am seeing to report the siting. Apparently they are endangered and they are trying to get head counts of ones that are seen. And I am guessing by seeing one there is probably another one around (mate).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

ping

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,205
Purraise
2
Location
Ga
Oh I know. This is why it has bugged me what bird I was seeing around here. And maybe this will stop some of the subdivison building around me if a breeding pair is found here.
 

pixietina

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Messages
1,201
Purraise
1
Location
wrexham north wales
Originally Posted by Ping

Well for the past 2 days I have been seeing a bird I had never seen before. At first I thought it was a seagull but we are to far inland for that. So its really been bugging me. So tonight I got on the internet and did some looking around to find what it is I am seeing. Because I have lived here 3 years and I have never seen this bird. Well lo and behold it a Swallow-Tailed Kite. Its a type of hawk. It used to be quite common around Ga but in the late 60's its population dropped 70 %. Since 1996 they have been trying to bring the populations back. But from what I have read online they still are not seen in my area. Right now I do not have any pictures of the one here but here are some from on the internet. He/She has been here every day for the past few days (and flying low looking for food) so hopefully I can get some pictures.

Here is some info:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou..._Kite.html#map



I will be calling the DNR in the morning now that I know what I am seeing to report the siting. Apparently they are endangered and they are trying to get head counts of ones that are seen. And I am guessing by seeing one there is probably another one around (mate).
it could be a young one finding its own territory

stunning bird!
i love birds of prey so much i am obsessed
 

carolpetunia

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
9,669
Purraise
17
Location
Plano, Texas
What a fabulous creature! I'd never heard of such a thing before! It does look a little like a seagull, but that tail... wow!

We have seagulls around Dallas, by the way... and we're about 300 miles inland, I believe. It amazes me how far they range.
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
There's some sort of grey kite like bird around here, I would say it was the same thing as it looks like that, but it's range is no where close to this state.

I wish I knew what they were, there's a lot of them.

There are seagulls in Oklahoma, too, near larger ponds and lakes.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

ping

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,205
Purraise
2
Location
Ga
If you see a bird in your area that looks similar to the bird I listed take a picture and call DNR. From what I gather the breeding range of this used to be in many areas of the USA but because of depletion on natural resources its numbers are declining greatly. Your DNR would be quite interested to know that there is some in your state.
http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/548

This link above says that the breeding area used to extend to central and southern Texas. So if you see it again take a picture and call your DNR.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

There's some sort of grey kite like bird around here, I would say it was the same thing as it looks like that, but it's range is no where close to this state.

I wish I knew what they were, there's a lot of them.

There are seagulls in Oklahoma, too, near larger ponds and lakes.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

ping

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,205
Purraise
2
Location
Ga
I just called DNR in Atlanta. The woman was like wow when I told her what I was calling about. Apparently they do not get many calls about sightings. So she took my name and number and said she was gonna to ask around about who is currently heading up the study of these birds and have them call me. Until then I have a few more calls to make locally to find about about who needs to know about these birds.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

ping

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
2,205
Purraise
2
Location
Ga
Well talked to DNR today. The woman I talked to was very interested in the sighting. Asked a bunch of questions about location, time of day, was he eating or not etc. She was particularly interested in the fast he/she was trying to mess with another nest. As far as what is known that is unusual for this bird. We also came to the conclusion that this one I am seeing is a juvenile mainly because the black on the wings does not quite extend to the tip of the wing.

He/She was back this afternoon around 4pm. But I did not have my camera ready. By the time I had it ready he/she was out of the area. And he/she is flying really low so I know I could get some good pictures. But what was real neat to watch for me was watching him fly. He does not flap his wings they stay outstretched. He uses his tail feathers as a propeller and for changing directions. Its just so amazing to see it up close not more than 3-5 feet in front of me and 2-3 feet above me. Its just amazing.

The DNR wants me to keep tabs on him like location, time of day he is spotted, whether he is eating (the eat in flight) or carrying nesting material. So I am keeping a log of the info and I will call her once a week or every 2 weeks with updates. Oh and if I can get pictures they would like copies as well.
 
Top